self awareness: what it is, why it is important, + how to practice it

I don’t know about you, but self reflection sent me running for the hills for quite some time. It it so hard to take a look at the parts of ourselves that we have left in the dark or have forgotten about because it is too hard to face. It may be hard, but this is where I found the most growth, healing, and understanding while learning all about myself.

In my opinion, the most important work that needs to be done when starting on your self discovery path is to become deeply self aware. Taking the time to become acutely aware of all aspects of yourself and taking an inventory of your self, life, shadow, body intelligence, masks, and fears is an extremely beneficial practice that can be very helpful and enlightening.

When you are acutely self-aware, you are now able to get a clearer picture of where you are in your life and where you would like to go.

what is self awareness?

According to Psychologists Shelley Duval and Robert Wicklund, self awareness can be defined as follows:

"Self-awareness is the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions that 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."

Most of us struggle with self awareness as it can be difficult to really take a deep hard look at ourselves. It is the practice of becoming aware of both our positive traits AND the areas that we are struggling with, what we would like to improve upon and why we may be the way that we are.

why is self awareness important?

There is great power in becoming truly self aware. When you can recognize all the things that you love about yourself and the things that you may want to work on or improve, you can really start to understand why you may be where you are today in life. You will also be able to improve on the things that you may have not been aware of may be hindering you.

Benefits of becoming self-aware:

• Being better able to manage and regulate your emotions.

• Understanding who you are and who you want to be

• Recognizing what works for you and what does not

• Better decision-making skills.

• Improved relationships.

• Higher levels of happiness.

ways to practice self awareness:

There are so many ways and avenues to explore when diving into self awareness but here are practices that I find extremely beneficial:

1. Start a self awareness affirmation practice:

   Affirmations are a powerful way to change your mindset and help you adopt new ways of thinking. To learn all about affirmations and create your own self awareness affirmations, dowbload our FREE affirmation e-book.

2. Start a self awareness journal using journal prompts:

   Journaling is a great way to dive into a certain subject and using journal prompts can also be a great way to dive even deeper. Please see below for 10 journal prompts to get you started:
   1. What are three words you’d use to describe yourself today?

   2. How have your priorities shifted over the past year?

   2. What’s a belief you held strongly in the past but have since changed?

   3. Which experiences have shaped your character the most?

   4. What are some barriers that prevent you from understanding yourself better?

   5. What are some things you forgive yourself for?

   6. How do you handle conflicts in your life?

   7. How do you handle moments of self-doubt?

   8. How do you want to be remembered by others?

   9. How do you handle setbacks?

   10. What’s a dream you’ve yet to chase?

3. lean into shadow work :

   Our shadow side is just what it sounds like, it is the parts of yourself that you keep in the dark and hidden. It refers to the parts of ourselves that we feel ashamed about and are scared of. All of us have these parts of ourselves or have things that we have done that we keep hidden away from ourselves and others. Starting to identify these parts of yourself is a great way to become more self aware.

4. Work with a counselor or therapist :

   If you find that tapping into this side of yourself is difficult or if you need more support, working with a licensed mental health professional would be a great option if that is an available option for you.

5. Guided Workbooks:

   Guided self awareness workbooks can be extremely helpful if you are wanting to do this journey on your own. There are so many wonderful options out there and the one I have created would be an extremely wonderful option as well. You can find our Self Awareness + Inventory Guided work book here!

6. Guided Meditations:

   Meditations are a wonderful way to really go within and focus on a certain goal. There are so many wonderful guided meditations that focus on self awareness . Please find the links to them below:

   1. Womens Meditation Network - Guided meditation for self awareness

   2. Meditation Mountain - Guided meditation for self-awareness

As always, I hope you found this information helpful. If you have any questions or just want to chat, please feel free to reach out HERE. Remember that you are worth the time, effort, and energy it takes to learn what works for you so that you can show up for yourself in this one beautiful and wild life you get.

i am so glad that

you are here!

Thank you so much for hanging out with me a bit today, I hope you found it helpful.  If you every have any questions, please feel free to reach out HERE.