To be aware is to have knowledge, to have consciousness. But there is so much more than that, isn’t there? There are multiple contexts to view “awareness,” such as mindfulness; being aware simply meaning that you are paying attention to what is happening right here and now. In meditation and mindful conversations, awareness is a word constantly buzzing around.
Why does self-awareness matter, though? Why is it so important? In today’s hectic and busy lifestyle, levels of stress and anxiety have dramatically increased and the emotions come along with it. Others talk about depression or dissatisfaction rather than acknowledging their feelings and emotions and attempt talking about them. Instead of working them out, we all turn to temporary distractions so that we can turn away from dealing with those feelings. Self-Awareness would be the cure-all for these issues.
Through meditating, self-awareness can naturally develop over time, and self-awareness is practically the core of meditation. With meditating and gaining self-awareness, you’ll be able to collect feelings, emotions and physical sensations more positive and lively. It’s also possible to gain more knowledge of your character, such as how you react to different situations. Through self-awareness, you can see yourself in a different light, and it may be possible to even unearth those deep emotions that you were not able to perceive before.
Self-awareness is more than just being involved with your emotions – it’s also to help you live your life more fully after discovering your emotions and feelings. I’ve learned of three tips to help gain self-awareness: acknowledge your emotions, record your feelings, and expand your self-awareness beyond your own feelings. We cannot simply rely on rational thinking to make decisions because it is our very own emotion and feelings that will keep us in balance.
Recording your feelings is a very simple exercise that can be used in a number of ways. It develops self-awareness through communicating with your subconscious to discover what it truly is you’re passionate about. If you record your feelings often enough, you might even start beginning to see a trend happening because your subconscious knows it all before you even write it down.
Meditation is the secret key to self-awareness because it is the best way to reconnect with ourselves while quieting down the non-stop, busy mind chatter. Once you are able to find your quiet zen space for meditating, dive deep into your subconscious minds to find the limitless potential of self-awareness. You will gain natural compassion, accurate intuition, and the ability to read others’ emotions. You’ll find you’ll get better at decision-making, increase self-discipline, become a great listener, have an optimistic attitude, and gain the ability to have a flexibly-adaptive mindset for new and different situations.
There are different levels of self-awareness and different ways to get there for each person. As a matter of fact, the majority of our emotions and feelings are going on autopilot, and sometimes when we’re on autopilot for so long, we forget that we’re not even in control! The practice of avoiding pain through distraction is where it all begins. Our mind goes to some other time or place where it can feel safe and secure from the pain of everyday life. There’s nothing wrong with distractions, we just need to be aware of our distractions. The goal would be to establish awareness and manage our distractions.
The next stage to bring to the topic is what are you actually feeling? It’s an uncomfortable place to go. It requires a lot of focus and effort to go through old emotions and deal with them instead of letting them hold you back. But don’t get too caught up on that because your emotions can also be a distraction. A lot of emotions are pointless and can hold you back from the emotions and feelings that outweigh all of the others.
If we are aware of our own weaknesses, then we can no longer allow them to be weaknesses. Otherwise, you’ll become a slave to your own mind. Be realistic, recognize the problems that you create for yourself, learn your patterns, take yourself less seriously, and don’t have such strong opinions. There’s a good chance that your assumptions could be straight-up wrong. Most behaviors are just reactions to your emotions. Stop avoiding problems in life and understand your faults so that you can change them for the better.
Self-awareness will not make everyone happier because it is often combined with self-judgment. Don’t become aware of all the ways you deserve to be judged; become aware of all the ways to elevate your own mind – to be more empathetic, more accepting, more knowledgeable about emotions for yourself and others. Because in the end, self-awareness is only wasted if the outcome is not self-acceptance.
