What is self-awareness? Does everyone have it? How can it help us? Does it help us in making decisions? Self-awareness is all about discovering and exploring your inner knowing.
We have all started projects which end up going nowhere. Starting again can leave us bewildered, and as a result we fall into self pitying beliefs; asking ourselves “Why me?” “What went wrong” “Why do I always fail”.
Self-awareness can help us side-step these drawbacks. By exploring various parts of our inner-selves, we can avoid false starts and dead-ends. Instead, we can be more aligned with our true selves which can create more energy and clarity.
So how do we cultivate self-awareness?
By combining spirituality, perspective, critical thinking and a sense of belonging, we can explore a new way of knowing where we see everything as an integrated whole. The goal is to reach this wholeness which can bring us a greater sense of awareness and connection.
Below is a decision-making tool from wisdomofthewhole.com demonstrating how to explore your awareness.
Step 1: Consider a current decision/choice point you are currently faced with. Name your choices “A” and “B.” For example: Do you leave your current jo or stay put?
Step 2: Pick a physical space in your room for option A and move to it.
Step 3: Think about option A. Ask yourself (and maybe journal on) the following:
What thoughts am I having? What feelings are coming up? What story am I telling myself? What images do I see in my mind’s eye? What body sensations am I getting? For example, Is my throat tight? Is my jaw clenched? Can I breathe easier in this option? How aligned is this option to my sense of purpose? 50%, 20%, 90%, etc. What else do I notice as I try on this option?
Step 4: Pick a new location in your room for option B and move to it. Ask yourself the same questions in Step 3.
Step 5: Now, find a new place in your room to stand and experience a third option you haven’t yet considered. This option might be a combination of A/B, or something entirely new (you don’t even have to know yet). Sometimes, no new option comes to you and that is fine. But try to think of one, and then ask yourself the questions in Step 3.
Step 6: Now, sit down and write your takeaways from the exercise. What did you learn about yourself and your options? Decide on a fun and easy new step during the next week to move toward a goal based on your new awareness. Tell someone about your next step and ask them to check with you in a week to see how you progressed.
Some decisions you make can change the whole course of your life whilst others simply enable you to carve out a path in your day. The exercise above will enable you to make such decisions with more awareness to support the most positive results accessible to you.
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