Self Awareness:
What Is It and Why Do You Need It?

Self awareness is having a clear and accurate insight of the different characteristics of your personality, your relationships, and how you interact with people and things in the world around you.

When you have a general self realization, you not only better understand yourself, but others as well. With a clear grasp of these principles, you can begin to appreciate the motivation behind others’ actions. You will also be able to have a sense your own views and attitude towards yourself as an individual.

Most of us have some knowledge our individuality. Still, being mindful of ones’ self is an area in which almost everyone can stand to improve. Focusing on self-awareness offers a number of benefits. For example, it’s an important first step towards self development.

Here are three key takeaways to consider about self awareness:

Why it is Important – When you understand yourself, you know that you have the power to take control of your own emotions, thoughts, personality, and behavior. Simply by knowing and accepting this, you will be able to make considerable improvements in many aspects of your life. In addition, you’ll begin to fully understand the scope of your personal interactions and relationships.

How to Develop It –Self awareness is something that has to be worked on over time. Generally, it involves paying close attention to the specifics of your personality and behavior. It also includes recognizing patterns in the kind of results you continuously get in your life.

Key Areas for Development – Some areas you can begin paying attention to include: the way you interact with the world around you...what you choose to value (and equally importantly what you do not choose to value)...your basic personality style...your personal habits, wants, needs, thoughts...and emotions. Becoming aware of each of these is an important part in becoming truly self-aware.

Each of us must deliberately try to adjust our own internal thoughts and emotions in order to affect positive change in our lives. And…this process is never truly complete. It is an ongoing struggle to maintain a true and honest observation of ones’ self on a daily basis.

Spend some time on your self awareness because...being in control of your own mind and mental state is an immensely powerful tool that can have a profound impact on your life. You will have a very clear idea of what you want out of life…and how to develop strategies for achieving your goals.