Written by Horng Yuan | Photo by Andre Mouton on Unsplash
Do you know that a lack of self-awareness - good knowledge and judgment about yourself - is one of the major obstacles to leadership development, career progression, and happiness in life?
Self-awareness is the skill of being aware of our thoughts, emotions, and values from moment to moment. Unfortunately, this skill is usually not included and taught in the standard curriculum in most management education programmes.
It is common for us to not have an accurate view of ourselves; we are usually unaware of our blindspots. But then, we do know of our friends’ flaws more than they do, do we not?
Many of us have remained oblivious to our shortcomings and weaknesses. This poses a challenge because you and I will find it difficult to reach our potential and grow optimally when we fail to accurately see ourselves, our behaviours, and actions. It is almost guaranteed that we are bound to stumble or stagnate along the way.
The Reward of Self-Awareness
But there is reward to those who are intentional and courageous enough to develop a keen sense of self-awareness. They are more likely to encounter greater success and better enjoy their life and work.
So, would you like to be one of those courageous ones? The following seven practical techniques will help you develop self-awareness.
The Seven Steps
1. List your values
Your values guide your behaviour and will tell you a lot about yourself, so set aside an hour or two to identify, clarify, and prioritize them. You can list them according to instrumental and terminal values. This exercise is very helpful; be prepared to discover a few surprises about yourself.
2. List your goals
This is to define what you would like to have, do, and experience in your life and work. Note that conscious goals affect actions. Listing and setting your goals enable you to identify your priorities and develop strategies to achieve personal and professional objectives. You will become more self-aware when you write down your goals.
3. Keep a journal
There are many benefits of journaling; you can read them here. When done right, journaling is one of the most effective ways to help you get in touch with your inner self. There are many resources written about journaling; you can do some research and devise your own journaling process.
4. Have a heart-to-heart talk with someone close to you
This person can be a family member or a friend who knows more about you than you know about yourself. By listening, you will discover what other people say about you and how they react to you. You will develop perceptions of yourself based on others’ views.
5. Take personality assessments
There are many assessments available online, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, DiSC profile, and Enneagram Type Indicator. Go through them honestly and learn what they have to say about you. You can also ask your close friends if they think the results are accurate; their validation will be helpful to you.
6. Identify the traits in others that bother you
This is about figuring out the traits you dislike about others that turn you off, and then objectively see and reflect if you possess the same traits. You can also read about the personality traits, both the good and the bad, that are different from yours in the assessments mentioned in the previous point.
7. Use your imagination
You can imagine you are in a happy and a stressful situation. Visualise how you interact with your family, friends, neighbours, coworkers, and strangers, and how you think they view you in both situations. This stimulates the brain to enter certain states of readiness for particular sensory experiences, and corresponding states of expectancy.
Conclusion
So, how self-aware are you?
What did you find about yourself while going through the ways of becoming more self aware?
What are your values and life goals?
Do you know your strengths and weaknesses?
Do you understand your flaws?
In what type of environment do you thrive?
If you unable to answer these questions easily, then developing greater self-awareness will definitely benefit you. Until you understand yourself well, your life will appear to be dominated by external forces beyond your control.
Become more self-aware and you can regain mastery over your life!
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