The unpredictable nature of life creates chaos in many different ways. Factors such as addiction and mental illness can cause this chaos to feel even more extreme. Continuous stress, frustration, anguish, despair, or instability can lead us to lose our sense of self.
We cannot seem to understand or manage our emotions, thoughts, or actions. Comprehending our needs and our values can feel like a foreign practice. This is a discipline we can implement in our lives to create and enhance our self-awareness.
What is Self Awareness?
There are two types of self-awareness that impact all areas of our lives. Our inner self-awareness pertains to how we interpret and honor our values, emotions, attributes, and attitudes. Inner self-awareness affects our stability as we react to our environment, changes in our lives, and our feelings.
External self-awareness describes how we interact with others, understanding the way our loved ones, coworkers, and other people in our lives view us. It extends to how we respond to the perspectives of others.
Both types of self-awareness are beneficial to develop and nurture. They are parallel to each other.
The way we understand and honor ourselves will reflect the way we interact with others. In the same regard, the way we treat and interpret our environment and the people around us will reflect how we value and perceive ourselves internally.
How to Achieve Self-Awareness
Internal and external self-awareness work in tandem to help us take care of ourselves, interact with the people in our lives, and find tranquility among the confusion that comes with everyday life. To cultivate self-awareness we can implement many different practices.
Practicing mindfulness can aid in bringing our awareness to the present moment. Practice future-focused thinking. Many times we ask why we feel or behave a certain way, or why a situation had a specific outcome.
Try to change the narrative to questions such as what caused this? What can I do to change this? What will I do differently in the future? Instead of focusing on our achievements or failures, work on staying present to feel empowered in the future.
Assessing our past thoughts, emotions, and behaviors can lead to negativity. Instead, work toward positive changes, no matter how big or small, that you can implement as you go forward.
Remember that life is not black and white. Self-awareness requires compromise. Honoring your own values, asking for feedback, extending empathy to others, and practicing patience with yourself can lead to higher self-awareness.
It is a learning process, and it continues and fluctuates with the changes in your life. Actively participating in your own self-awareness can be rewarding for you and the people you interact with.
Self-awareness is an important aspect of self-care, it is something that grows alongside you. Nurture it, pay attention to it, and watch as you continue to bloom and cultivate love for yourself!
The Guest House Ocala specializes in the treatment of trauma, addictions, and related mental health issues. Clinical expertise, a compassionate team, and outstanding attention to detail ensures each guest’s experience will be customized to their needs. To ask any questions and begin that journey today, call 855-582-7122 for more information.