My email subscribers received this same question a few weeks ago: How self aware are you? When I tuned in and intuitively asked what would best serve any of you amazing readers, I heard loud and clear to deliver a similar message here.
This topic is so important because it is often our inner blindspots that get in the way of our best lives. The more self-aware we are, the more success we’ll achieve in leadership, business, all of our relationships, and every area of life.
Many don’t even realize what this fully entails, and often, those who think they’re self-aware aren’t actually self-aware at all. It’s one of those weird Catch-22’s where you need to be self-aware enough to realize you need to work on it.
The definition we’ll use here is this: self-awareness is the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions do or don’t align with your internal standards. If you’re highly self-aware, you can objectively evaluate yourself, manage your emotions, align your behavior with your values, and understand correctly how others perceive you.
Without self-awareness you can’t enable your best future.
Decades ago I would’ve told you I was super self-aware. As I mentioned last month, I was a bit of a know-it-all, and always had to act like I had it all together. Many people came to ME for advice.
However, I was unhappy in many areas of life, hyper career focused, subconsciously codependent with my parents, spent money on the wrong things, rarely put my best self forward and dated the wrong men for me. Looking back, I wish I had been going to therapy and had better self-connecting habits like journaling, meditation, and checking in with my intuition.
The disconnect between how I acted and what I said I wanted was a red flag, but also a sign that I had a huge opportunity to enhance my knowledge of who I am. Self-awareness is a constant journey of discovery and getting curious with your why behind everything.
One powerful tool to gain clarity here is to make a simple list. What are all the things you want but don’t yet have? Now, with a deep breath, curiosity, great love and kindness, what are all the ways you get in your own way? What’s one thing you’re ready to start doing differently?
My blindspot until only a few years ago? I didn’t believe in myself and had such a low sense of self-worth. I thought self-awareness was constantly beating myself up. These beliefs were the lens through which I saw life, made choices, and self-sabotaged.
Where can you enhance your relationship with you? I’d love to help. We all deserve our best lives. nicole@eloiandstella.com.
