Self Awareness: The Art of Knowing Yourself

Have you wondered why sometimes, your efforts appear not to be yielding the desired outcomes?

Don’t worry; you are not alone. 

However, this does not mean you should just throw your hands up in the air in despair or be resigned to your circumstances. 

The real question is: What are you going to do about it? 

In today’s modern and rapidly evolving times, it can be quite draining to keep up with all that’s going on around us. Still, if you are aware of your unique innate qualities, going at your own pace and finding your own place in the world needn’t be as difficult as it looks.  

Every week, I will share my thoughts on how you can become the very best version of YOU. Whether it is to advance in the workplace, get along with the people who matter to you or achieve your goals and dreams, we all require some basic life skills to succeed and live a full life. 

Today, I am going to talk a little about SELF-AWARENESS.

What does it mean to be ‘self-aware’? 

Self-awareness is about understanding your strengths, weaknesses, emotions, and values. It’s about understanding what makes you, YOU! And it’s very important for every individual. Let’s take, for example, DC Comics’ superhero character, ‘Superman’. In his universe, he is possibly Earth’s strongest superhero and one of the greatest of all time. He is super-fast, super-strong, possesses superhuman vision and generally struts his stuff, defends Earth’s integrity and keeps all the supervillains in check. Here’s the kicker: even with all his great qualities, he actually has a weakness, ‘Kryptonite’ – a radioactive element from his home planet of Krypton and he keeps away from it. Kryptonite can also refer to anything that you consider a weakness or vulnerability in someone’s life. Superman understands his limitations and knows what to do at all times. 

What makes you tick? What ticks you off? Being self-aware equips you with the essential emotional intelligence to navigate life on your own terms.  

Do you understand how you are wired?

Every person has a fragile area in their life, a part of them that can be improved; that side you shield from others. You must know yourself and how best you can function effectively. Daily self-improvement is a great sign of growth and an admission that you are not perfect, after all.

So, how can you improve your self-awareness? I will strip it down to three simple and easy things you need to do:

HAVE REGULAR MEETINGS WITH YOURSELF

You need to have regular meetings with YOURSELF. Some constant ‘me time’ never hurt anyone. It is in those moments you can dispassionately assess yourself. Look out for areas you can improve on. Those meetings have to be as regular as you want them to be and you have to be very truthful to yourself. Ask yourself hard questions. The way a good paint of coat from time to time keeps a house or home in good shape, right now, your life might be in desperate need of a paint job! 

HAVE REGULAR STAKEHOLDERS’ MEETINGS

You need to have regular meetings with people you consider stakeholders in your life. People who will tell you the truth and can evaluate you regularly. Perhaps, your spouse, your boss at work, a trusted friend, a spiritual guide/mentor; even your parents. You should have at least 3 people you talk to about real matters in your life. Ask them not to sugar-coat it. 

TAKE A PERSONALITY TEST 

One key thing you need to do – if you’ve never done it before – is to take a PERSONALITY TEST. What is your personality type? According to early Graeco-Arabic psychosomatic research, every human falls into the four basic temperament model: Sanguine, Phlegmatic, Choleric and Melancholic. These temperament types go a long way in determining how you relate with people and how people perceive you. More recently updated studies also play on how these rudimentary classifications can bring out the best in you. For instance, are you a Counsellor, a Nurturer, an Inspector, a Giver, a Doer, Thinker or an Idealist? There are 16 possible personality types under this contemporary Personality Assessment tool,  and knowing yours will help you understand your emotions and your make-up. 

It is important to bear in mind that to do these three things, you must be brutally honest with yourself. Keep working on yourself every day and see how you grow into the best version of yourself.

Remember, you have one life to live, MAKE IT COUNT!

Also, listen to the #90SecondsWithFBO podcast on Self Awareness here. (https://soundcloud.com/90secwithfbo/self-awareness)