Why Self-Awareness Matters

Can you recognize when you’re off course, or out of alignment? Would you know how to determine if you’re being who you’re called to to be? THIS is the importance of self-awareness.

Self-awareness is the conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires

Having self-awareness gives you the ability to examine yourself without judgement and determine for yourself that you’re out of order. When you can acknowledge that you’re out of alignment with your true identity and purpose and allowing outside influences to drive your life, you’ve given yourself the power to change it. When you’re not self-aware you can find yourself in a place of wandering – aimlessly doing things without thinking, or putting yourself in situations that don’t support the type of live you want to enjoy. You’re not in the driver’s seat of your life, you operate on auto-pilot.

The key to moving toward self-awareness begins with examining your own behavior. You conduct an autopsy of your experiences and give yourself a chance to reflect on the lessons that you’ve learned. Keeping a journal is helpful so you don’t forget the process.

You can start by asking yourself “why” questions in the areas that are frustrating you or causing dis-ease:

• Why am I allowing “so-and-so” to dump their emotional baggage on me but don’t answer the call when I need help?
• Why am I accepting disrespectful and hurtful behavior from people who say they want to be in relationship with me?
• Why am I spending time doing things I don’t enjoy with people I don’t like?

If you can’t explain why you’re doing certain things, you may be “being who you’re not supposed to be”. When this happens, you recognize that you’ve been bending and folding yourself in ways that make others comfortable and you end up dishonoring yourself.

And when you realize that you’re out of alignment you can cultivate your self-awareness to reset. Here are a few tips to help you do that:

• Meditate/pray – The thoughts that you’ve been trying to ignore are trying to tell you something. Give them an opportunity to start showing you who you are.
• Write your goals and priorities – When you create the vision for your life and make it plain you can hold yourself accountable for achieving them. Clarity is a gift.
• Ask for feedback – It’s hard to read the label from inside the jar, so invite your trusted support circle for help. Ask for their perspectives on the woman they see in you, and be prepared to receive what they share. If you trust them (you should), they wouldn’t tell you anything that isn’t for your highest good.
• Develop your ‘couture‘ self-care practice – being clear on your needs gives you the freedom to nurture yourself in ways that feed you specifically

The bottom line is this – We get one life. ONE. It’s so important that we create space in our lives to become clear on who we desire to be and how we desire to live. We can choose to fall in love with the process of discovering ourselves and becoming. Your growing self-awareness is the first domino that begins every level of your confidence journey, and you’re capable of handling everything that you discover.