What is Self-Awareness and How Can You Improve It?

“To know yourself, you must sacrifice the illusion that you already do.” — Vironika Tugaleva

As human beings we experience so much so quickly that it can be challenging to slow down and check in with ourselves by asking important questions such as:

• What am I experiencing in this moment?

• What emotions are present for me right now?

• How am I reacting in this situation and when did I learn to react like this?

These are some of the questions to ask yourself to increase your self-awareness as an individual.  The question is, what exactly is self-awareness and why should you put energy into increasing it?

Self-Awareness is essentially an understanding of one’s personality and individuality.  The traits that make up this understanding include (but are not limited to) a person’s:

• Values
• Beliefs
• Emotions
• Thoughts
• Sensations
• Actions
• Proprioception
• And so much more

As for why this understanding is so important, no change can take place without first being aware of what is currently taking place!  Think of self-awareness as a skill that is essential towards your personal and professional development.  Having an uplevel in self awareness can aid you in creating different results in your relationships, decision making, financial situations, communication, physical health, confidence, spirituality, and ultimately your impact on the world around you.

Your growth is rooted in your self-awareness!  So with that being said, how does one improve it?

There is no one-size-fits-all  strategy to pick from when building the muscle of self-awareness.  It is multi-faceted and different strategies create different levels of impact based upon a person’s personality, beliefs, and past experiences.  Below are some examples of strategies that have been proven to be effective by our graduate base:

• Discussion

1. 1. 1. It may sound cliché, but talking about events, emotions, and experiences can lead towards clarity on the person you are.  Speaking words to express your inner thoughts is an effective way to get everything in the open and clear your mind.  A person who can think clearly can observe clearly.

• Closed Eye Processes

1. 1. 1. Sometimes what gets in the way of improving self-awareness is overstimulation.  Being glued to your phone screen is a prime example.  With the world moving quickly, it can be easy to fall into moving from one task to the next without any breaks in between.  The act of closing your eyes alone removes much of the day to day stimulus from the present moment.  Less stimulus means a greater chance to be focus on being mindful to what’s going on with your mind, body, and spirit.  Forms of meditation and visualization can also be useful aids in creating mindfulness.

• Journaling

1. 1. 1. Much like speaking, journaling is a productive way to tap into the subconscious mind.  Emptying thoughts onto paper creates mental clarity which in turn provides greater presence of what’s going on internally.  Not to mention you can keep a record of what you wrote down as time goes on which is a novel part of the self reflection process.

• Playing Games

1. 1. How you participate in games is a great way to observe how you naturally behave.  When you fully immerse yourself in the spirit of a game, you may discover how you view competition, cooperation, attention to detail, and any other behaviors you may exhibit on a daily basis.

These are just a few of the strategies to improve your self-awareness as a human being.  With any of the listed practices, you’ll find that being aware of who you are and how you behave will be more accessible as time goes on.  Discover what practices will serve you best and reap the benefits of consistency such that you create amazing results in your life.

Practice and discovery works best when in an experimental, encouraging environment as people have a tendency of becoming a product of the space they are in.  At MITT we hold this environment in an integral way so that you can create your own permission to explore what it would be like to create the life of your dreams.

You can uplevel your Self-Awareness journey by attending our next Basic Training. Check out some real life results here:

For more examples on what our students have created, check out our Graduate Spotlight!