I’ve run into a lot of issues lately that have directly been a result of my lack of self-awareness. The outcomes could have easily been reversed if I had just known myself a little better and predicted how I would have reacted or felt.
A lot of the times, we do know ourselves, but we let this knowledge get distorted by outside influences during situations when it’s most important. Don’t ignore what you know, what you want and don’t look past how you feel and react.
Self awareness is conscious knowledge of one's own character, feelings, motives and desires. If you don’t already, you should know yourself better than anyone else. You should be aware of what you’re capable of, positively and negatively. You should be aware of what’s best for you and what you may need to stray away from for the sake of your health, sanity or happiness. Most importantly, be aware of when and where you fall short. We often become the most aware of ourselves in trying and tough situations. The process of getting to know ourself is usually brutal, but there is light at the end of the tunnel that turns us into the best versions we can be.
In a piece written on Essential Life Skills, Z. Hereford said in order to know yourself, you must:
- Be aware of your strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes
- Observe and be aware of your moods, reactions and responses to what is happening around you
- Become aware of how these moods and emotions affect your state of mind
- Examine how you interact with others
- Observe how your environment affects you
At home, you may be around a lot of like-minded people, so their responses are often the same. But at school with so many different people, you become aware of yourself and how you’re different from others when you get different responses and actions. You get to see just how differently people were raised.
One of the reasons self-awareness comes in handy so much in college is because it allows us to become selfish when necessary.We learn not to put other people first in situations where we should be more concerned with ourselves. It sounds bad, choosing to be selfish, but if you know yourself, you’ll know that saying no may be what’s best for you.
We tend to get really caught up with asking other people for advice and seeking out help and insight from our friends, but even this can get us into trouble. Knowing yourself means knowing that other people’s advice and opinions may not be what’s best. There’s nothing wrong with getting this kind of assistance, but know that you will have to be the one that ultimately lives with the decision you make. I’ve been in multiple situations where I was trying to please other people, but I became completely uncomfortable because I ignored my own advice and opinions.
Not knowing yourself or your worth can lead to a lot of dissatisfaction and disappointments. Imagine not taking the time to really think about what to put on your resume. You will either sell yourself short or overcompensate. Either way, you or your employer ends up on the short end of the stick. Stay honest with yourself.
This concept can apply to a lot of things; life, jobs and relationships especially. Our interactions with others change constantly, but if you’re not honest with anyone else, you must be honest with yourself. Don’t allow outside influences to guide you to a space where you never wanted to be.
