You may be wondering, why begin with self-awareness? Great question, it’s the foundation for all subsequent emotional intelligence competencies. And if you only have time to focus on one aspect of emotional intelligence, it is self-awareness that will provide you with the best ROI. It’s far reaching. I will even go a step further and suggest the term self-awareness is a bit general, and what I encourage my clients to achieve is what I refer to as “acute” self-awareness. The magic starts happening when you highly develop your self-awareness. When you attain that perceptive understanding and that shrewd insightfulness, that’s when you will literally experience your work life, relationships, and overall wellness rapidly improving. Acute self-awareness propels you to better levels in a comprehensive way.
You may benefit from focusing on acute self-awareness if:
- You tend to have emotional melt-downs or outbursts
- You have trouble identifying and labeling emotions accurately
- You allow your feelings to control your actions
- You lack understanding of the value and role of emotions
- You have trouble managing triggers
- You completely ignore your emotions or feel you rise above them
- You have trouble making or maintaining friendships
- You repeatedly make poor decisions for yourself
- You blame others for your problems
- You find yourself chronically stressed or chronically ill
- You have ongoing conflict in the workplace
- If you lack confidence or if you lack self-acceptance
How will having acute self-awareness improve your well-being?
- It will boost your self-regard and self-compassion
- It will help build stress management skills
- It will increase assertiveness
- It will improve communication
- It will assist in making sound decisions
- It will increase motivation
- It will help you handle triggers
- It will increase adaptability
- It will promote positive outlook
- It will promote emotional balance
- It will boost introspection
- It will assist with self-control and self-regulation
- It builds self-confidence
- It builds resilience
- It builds perseverance
- It improves engagement
- And it fosters empathy
Self-awareness helps us to shift our perspective ~ to see with clarity the stark realities and the vast possibilities. It will help you understand how your thoughts and feelings impact your health and well-being.
Education has finally put a spotlight on this at both the elementary and secondary levels. Yippee! The truth is, developing acute self-awareness is possible at any age! I can be your shortcut to optimizing self-awareness and making it like gold in your life.