How do you become more self-aware?

Personal development begins with becoming more self-aware. What does that mean and how do you do it? This blog tells you how, and provides you with 3 tips.

What is self-awareness?

Self-awareness means being more aware of YOURSELF. Many of us belief we live according to our thoughts, while we in fact live according to how we have been programmed. We need to become aware of our thoughts, emotions, blocks and triggers and see what is going on inside us at a deeper level.

Awareness is the first step towards change

It is important to live from the inside out. That means, living according to your personal values instead of adapting to your surroundings. Let me show you using an example.

Suppose freedom is your number one priority and you apply for a job at a company that wants you to answer the phone every morning from 8 to 9 a.m. You notice that this immediately diminishes your sense of personal freedom. Later, it turns out that it is a well-paid job. Your mind rationalises that this will bring you happiness and improve your spending power. After a few months in the job, you experience physical stress, you feel burned out because you are not living according to your personal values. If you had listened to your heart (from the inside out) you would have chosen a job that suits you, one where you experience freedom. Because of this you would have moved up faster within the organisation.

Focus on your awareness and experience inner happiness

The first step is to become aware of what you stand for personally. Ask yourself the following questions:

• What are your core values?
• What makes you happy?
• What do you absolutely want less of in your life?
• What do you want more of in your life?

Then you can start working on the issues you have in your life and go through your process of awareness step by step. You discover that your mind has stored situations you have experienced and given them a label. As soon as this label is awakened by a trigger, you respond automatically with a knee jerk reaction. If you home in more deeply on the situation and ask yourself where this reaction has come from, you become aware that you may be reacting from an old pain.

In retrospect, you would have liked to have reacted differently to the situation. Once you have become more aware, you will be able to choose exactly what you stand for. That means going through the pains, emotions, fears and blocks. If you have the courage to endure them, pain and old behaviour will fade away. You become empowered and courageous enough to face every situation lovingly. Take that first step and become more aware of YOURSELF.

3 tips to increase your self-awareness

Six years ago, I found myself in a similar situation. As a child, I was taught to live rationally, in my head. Living this way, I restricted myself significantly. Only after I learned to combine my feelings, intuition, heart and mind, was I able to experience happiness every day in every situation. Here are 3 tips to help you become more self-aware:

• Write down what you stand for and what's important to you.
• Decide for yourself what you want to focus on and what you might potentially do in future.
• Set aside at least an hour a week for yourself, to evaluate the points above and identify where, for example, you lose focus. Dig deep and home in on your emotions and feelings.

Enjoy every situation that comes your way

No matter how challenging a situation is, it always contains positive learning elements. Focus on the positive side, what it brings you and what it yields. It takes courage to improve your self-awareness; it takes courage to also look at sensitive areas and turn them around. But do this consistently and happiness will follow effortlessly and you will live from the inside out. You will no longer let yourself be influenced by people or situations around you.

Do you continuously go around in circles?

If you keep going round in circles in your mind and can't figure things out, it's always helpful to talk to a coach or someone you trust. Quite often, people are dealing with the same themes. I myself have seen similar themes come up with various clients, and during coaching sessions. I have summarised this in the 5-step method, so that you know where you stand. I am specialised in getting to the root of your real core problem, which is step 1. If you start with that, steps 2 to 5 follow automatically. You can read more about the 5-step method here.

Are you tired of searching for answers on your own and would you like to get rid of the issue you are experiencing every day once and for all? Take the 1st step today and plan a free intake session with me or send an email to: info@empoweryourselfcoach.com. I will always give you a straight answer about how many sessions are needed to solve your core problem. You do the rest yourself, with my personal guidance.

You need someone to believe in you!
The magic is in yourself.

- Chantal van den Broek, coach