SELF AWARENESS

"Self-knowledge is the great power by which we comprehend and control our lives." -- Vernon Howard

DEFINITION

Self awareness is defined as understanding what is important to you, understanding how you experience things, knowing what you want, knowing how you feel, and knowing how you come across to others

KEY AREAS OF SELF AWARENESS

To become more self-aware, we should develop an understanding of ourselves in 5 key areas: Personality traits Personal values Habits Needs Emotions

PERSONALITY

We normally don’t change our personalities based on what we learn about ourselves.

Understanding our personalities can help us: Find situations in which we’ll thrive Help us avoid stressful situations

VALUES

Our daily “things-to-do” list is quite excessive Can often lose focus on our main priorities

When we focus on our values, we are likely to accomplish what we find most important.

HABITS

We would all like to possess the habits that help our relationships with others. The truth is that we all have habits that decrease

our relationship effectiveness

Understanding these habits can help our relationships with our managers and our co-workers

NEEDS

We all have needs that govern our choices, but we must be careful not to attribute the label “need” to our “wants” Figuring out the difference between what we

need and what we want can change the way we behave

Understanding our needs can improve our daily lives and interactions with others

EMOTIONS

Everyone has emotions Emotions can be tricky

Regulating emotional responses is important The human condition prompts immediate

emotional responses The key to regulating emotions is to understand

your own and practice self-mediation

BECOMING SELF-AWARE

Visit self-improvement websites

Browse self-improvement books

Think critically about the 5 key areas

Be your own Life Coach The Pocket Life Coach by Clare Gaskell

Examine your values and beliefs and compare them to your lifestyle