Self awareness tools help us to increase our internal insight. The strategies or tools stimulate us to examine who we are in the present. Also, they start us probing the patterns rooted in our past, and reaping the rewards of self-examination, in the future.
To continue with, mindfulness is simply noticing what we are thinking, feeling, and doing without judgement. Besides, Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer thought up a far broader and more practical definition of mindfulness. “The process of actively noticing new things, relinquishing preconceived mindsets, and then acting on our new observations.” According to Langer, distraction decreases happiness. Another consequence of mindlessness is not being present. It haves us losing our ability to monitor and control our thoughts, feelings and behaviours. In this, our self awareness suffers. Away from, mindfulness promotes self-insight and reduces anxiety.
Good Of Mindfulness
More, mindfulness vitalises us experiencing our emotions, without overthinking or overreacting. Also, it primes us to remember that the way we feel now isn’t the way we will feel forever. In support of, Dr. Megan Warner, associate clinical professor in the Yale School of Medicine’s Psychiatry Department, chimes in. “Mindfulness offers a strategy to disconnect from where our thoughts, emotions, and pain can take us.” Moreover, it quietens our ego, and primes us more open to feedback from others.
Saddling with, Ellen Langer articulated that the process of drawing novel distinctions is the essence of mindfulness. We can practice this in our everyday lives by noticing new things in ourselves and our world. Correspondingly, we improve our self-knowledge.
In line with, we will start with self awareness tools savoured of mindfulness.
1. Reframe Your Circumstances To Gain Over More Perspectives
In plainer terms, look at your circumstances, behaviours, and relationships, from a new and different angle, to broaden your outlook. To put a construction on, you on the verge of losing your job, might reason, “what might I gain from losing my job?” instead of “what will I lose from being out of job?” In focus with, reframing the situation from negative to positive primes you to glimpse an opportunity to grow, and even get a better job.
As well, we can reframe when things are going well, and gain over valuable perspectives. Of a truth, considering both the good and the bad, from multiple angles, helps us maximise our insight and success.
Harnessing A Difficult Situation
Comforming to, when in a difficult situation, ask, “what are opportunities to explore? Can I transform my weaknesses to strengths?” “What life or career successes have I had in my most trying situations?” “For good, what one gift came from my most challenging personal or professional relationship?”
When Things Are Going Well
In the same line, when things are going well, consider asking these questions. What are the potential risks, and how can I navigate away from them? In plain, what aspects of my strengths could transform into weaknesses? Accordingly, what potential challenges rear up in my past successes? What risks show in my best professional or personal relationship, and how can I temper it? Reframing is about viewing our experiences from a more objective angle. So, instead of being angry, step outside of yourself and watch what is going on. You fit yourself for self awareness tools as you do this.
2. Compare And Contrast Your Experiences To Unearth Similarities And Differences
As we compare and contrast our past experiences, thoughts, feelings, and behaviours, to what is happening right now, we see patterns, and gain clarity about the present. For instance, “last week, I was so happy and enthusiastic about my job. What is different this week, that is making me so miserable?” Also, “I’ve had similar challenges over multiple jobs, what might this mean? As you compare and contrast, you may discover that the predictable routine of people, projects, and office politics may be the source of your unhappiness at work.
What is more, the compare-and-contrast tool, can help us to discover patterns sabotaging us in our personal lives. In keeping with, following a string of failed relationships, we can ask ourselves, “is there a common factor in my failed relationships? Could the common factor be me? These questions could start us searching for similarities in our behaviours throughout our past relationships. We may end up discovering that in every relationship, we held in our emotions too much. We habitually shut down when upset, blocking any kind of deeper connection. This insight will motivate us to become more open with our feelings in our next relationship.
3. Start A Ritual Of Short, Focused Check-in To Review Your Choices For The Day And Look For Patterns
As we reflect on the discoveries from our experiences, we learn and grow. A way of gaining these discoveries or insights, is by practicing short, focused, daily check-in. We often lift our performance by taking the perspective of a critical outsider, and asking certain incisive questions. “How did I do today?” How do I feel about how today went?” Thus, it pays to take about five minutes to review our choices for the day, look for patterns, and observe what worked and what didn’t. As we take in what went well and what didn’t, we learn and become better. This learning shows we are going in for more self awareness tools.
4. Become A Biographer Of Your Life
This life story approach starts us looking backwards to learn how the sum total of our past shaped us. Saddling on, as we become biographers of our lives, we understand better who we are, who we are becoming, and who we could be.
Proceeding with, composing our life stories means thinking about our lives as if it were a book. A major step of, divide that book into chapters that represent the key phases of your life. Close upon, think of 5-10 specific scenes in your life story; high points, low points, turning points. Then, view your life story as a whole. What are the themes, feelings or lessons to note? How does your life story reflect the kind of person you are and might become? What picture of values, passions, aspirations, fit, reactions, and impact on others, do you see?
The Folly Of An Absolute Truth
Along with, as we become more self-aware, we shift away from an absolute truth that explains everything, and knit a more complex narrative of our key life events. Upside of, exploring multiple explanations of events, and even complex contradictory emotions, promotes growth and maturity. Clear in, consistent themes knitting together multiple important events of our lives, throw up insights that help us succeed. A common theme could show as a value revealing to you the importance of family life.
5. Use The Miracle Question To Mine Problems For Solutions, Think Less, And Understand More
Solutions mining lessens unproductive rumination or overthinking, and improves our self-awareness. Furthermore, it leads to greater insight and psychological growth. Buttressing with, a way to mine problems for solutions and insights, features as the “miracle question.” “Imagine that tonight as you sleep a miracle occurs in your life. A magical momentous happening has completely solved this problem and perhaps rippled out to cover and infinitely improve other areas of your life too. Think for a moment. How is life going to be different now? Describe it in detail. What is the first thing you will notice as you wake up in the morning? This was developed by De Shazar and Berg.
More, from the workplace to our home life, the miracle question leads to insight. For instance, if your biggest problem is delegation, you might use the miracle question to explore what the solution might look like. If the problem were magically solved, the first sign would probably be that you no longer see asking for help as a weakness. Instead, you would take to it as a means to greater team involvement, improvement, and prosperity. A poignant picture of your desired future arose from your seeing the problem solved. Following from, the miracle question stimulates us to think more broadly about our aspirations. Again, it stimulates us to buckle to self awareness tools.
6. Express Your Goals As Opportunities To Learn And Grow
This mindset sets us to a whole new level of insight and achievement. In more detail, it starts us exploring how our challenges can lead to growth. Plus, it helps us to discover what fears and unproductive behaviours to deal with, what traits or skills to improve. In consequence, our self-awareness, maturity, and well-being blooms.
7. Turn Your Gaze Outwards To Understand How You Are Seen
Internal self-awareness means gaining insight by looking inwards, while external self-awareness means turning our gaze outwards to understand how we are seen. From a gruff managerial style to poor people skills, we are often the last to acknowledge our failings. Stubbornly clinging to our blissful ignorances prevents us from learning the truth about behaviours holding us back.
Continuing with, the veracity of the saying that feedback is a gift, is supported by the fact that others generally see us more objectively than we see ourselves. Plus, as we integrate how others see us, we begin to see ourselves in a richer, more complete and multi-dimensional way.
Holding With Loving Critics
Truth to tell with, self-awareness is not one truth, but a complex interweaving of our views and those of others. Though we should pay attention to others’ opinions, they shouldn’t define us completely or override our self-image. As we evaluate the feedback received, we determine how and whether to act on it. Again, when we understand the behaviour we are getting feedback about, we stand to make better choices. Oftentimes, feedback from a small, trusted group, keen to tell us the truth proves more useful. In this, keep off unloving critics, people who criticise everything you do, jealous coworkers, grudge-bearers, irrationally uptight boss.
Noteworthy with, an effective feedback draws from a sufficient exposure to a behaviour, and presents a clear picture of what success looks like. Also, when we ask questions specific to a subject, we get effective feedback; do I behave abrasively at work?
Conclusion
Whether it is improving, succeeding, or bettering our well-being, self awareness tools play crucial roles. These tools prompt us into constructive, guiding insight. Self awareness tools include reframing our experiences to gain broader perspectives, checking-in to review our choices, life story approach to probe how our past is influencing our present, and shaping our future. Moreover, sound feedback from loving critics boosts our external self-awareness.
References
Cara Feinberg. “The mindfulness chronicles,” harvardmagazine.com, September/October 2010, http://harvardmagazine.com/2010/09/the-mindfulness-chronicles.
Steve De Shazer. Clues: Investigating Solutions in Brief Therapy. W. W. Norton & Co, 1988.
