Having Self Awareness for Personal Development is absolutely key in the process of self development itself.
So if you are wondering how having self awareness will enhance personal development….
It is important to take inventory on where you are right now- in a very honest way. By doing an evaluation of who and where you are at right now, you then know a base point from where you are starting from- and thus be more effective in creating a plan to develop areas that you desire. You can come into this journey with a more specific and measurable focus.
Understanding and being aware of who you are- your personal values, motivations, strengths, weaknesses, hopes, dreams, fears, thoughts, beliefs can be done in many different ways.
Here are some tips to lead you down the path of self awareness, and from there you can figure out areas that need to be further developed.
Writing Things Down
Taking the time to journal your thoughts, emotions, dreams, and fears is a great way to start to get to know and understand yourself better. Journal for one week and then re-read what you wrote the second week to get “fresh insight” as to possible patterns that seem to come up for you. Additionally, you might want to get into writing down your dreams which I will get into at a later time in another post… dreams can have very helpful insights if you learn to decipher them correctly.
Do Online Tests and Quizzes
We are so lucky to have a monumental amount of resources that are available online that will help us understand ourselves better. It might be wise to take the Myers Briggs (you could also try this quick and free similar test) or Gallup Strength Center tests (I recommend the top 5 strengths test) to understand more about your personality and your strengths. There are also many other tests available online- I would love to know of some of your own favorites!
Ask for Feedback From Others
Friends, family, employers…all of these people in your life who are with you day-to-day, they know you well. They may understand your quirks, your habits- asking them for constructive feedback on areas of your life that you could work on is not without it’s own risks: only ask if you can handle hearing the truth. The point being, to truly be self aware you may need to come to a realization that there are areas that you may need to work on and you need to be okay to hear it.
Be Constantly Open to Discovery
This is really a major one, and quite easy. Just the ability to allow yourself to be open to self growth, to understand yourself more and to discover the inner layers of your very being- when you place that intention into your mind every day it opens up a pathway to so many wonderful things that will come into your life naturally. Books may “pop” out at you for certain reasons. Your intuition may guide you into taking a course or looking into a certain topic. Follow your joy and be open to the possibilities and discoveries of all of what life has to offer. There is an abundance of knowledge around us that will help us discover and uncover more of who we are and what we are capable of, thus leading to further development of ourselves.
Wondering when this will all be over?
When you’re dead. So quit thinking there is some “end goal” for this one. Remember that there is no “destination” with self development- like the constantly expanding universe we live in, we too are constantly expanding, so enjoy the journey and embrace lifelong learning!
Would you like more tips on self awareness? What are some things that you do to be more self aware?
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