How to Become More Self-Aware?
As a child, you find joy everywhere. You were self-aware in a way where you find wonder and awe everywhere around yourself, even in ordinary moments. Once you become embedded in work and highly distracted by technology, you might lose yourself and lose the sense of wonder and joy around you.
Why Being Self-Aware Matters?
Being self-aware is important for dealing with daily stress. According to a study published in the European Journal of Psychology:
“The importance of self-awareness goes beyond well-being and mental health to include substantial impacts on day-to-day functioning.”
When you are self-aware you will perform your daily tasks better, even if you are stressed out and you will have a lower risk of burnout. When you are self-aware you are more likely to take breaks and tend to your own needs compared to when you are rushing through everything.
Counselor, Roseann Capanna-Hodge said:
“Self-awareness and mindfulness are associated with higher degrees of confidence, happiness, and overall wellness. When you are more emotionally regulated, you have more mental space for creative and positive thinking and are more adaptable to the changes in life.”
How to Become Self-Aware?
How to Become More Self-Aware? Find Your Own Love Language
As with anything else related to our own growth, being self-aware is not easy. From the good side, the process of learning about yourself can be fun. If you are being distracted by chaos and busyness from the things that matter, remember that finding your own purpose and joy matters the most.
To Become Self-Aware Become Still and Learn How to Listen
The first step to becoming self-aware is being still, and it’s probably the hardest step. We all lead busy lives and if we slow down, we feel we won’t have enough energy and things won’t happen. We have so many things to do and we are not able to afford to just be still. But when you become still and when you connect to yourself, your body can tell you so much.
That’s why meditation matters, and it’s often recommended by therapists around the world. If you spend five minutes a day with your own thoughts, becoming aware of your body and listening to your breath, you will become more grounded and connected with yourself and others.
Journaling is another way of becoming still and writing down how you feel. Whichever method you choose, make sure you are not judging yourself based on how you feel and what do you think.
Find Your Own Love Language
There are five love languages established by Gary Chapman: quality time, acts of service, physical touch, words of affirmation and receiving gifts. These five languages of love describe how we receive and give love.
We all can relate to all the languages of love but there is one that matters the most. Learning which one can help you understand what you need in an intimate relationship. If you don’t know what you need, the other side won’t know either. We all need to know what matters to us in love and friendship. Becoming self-aware means knowing what you need in life.
If you often find yourself thinking “I don’t know what I need,” that means that there is a lot of soul-searching still needed to become more self-aware.
How About Therapy?
If you are struggling with negative, and unwanted thoughts and you can’t stop yourself, it might be useful to reach out for help. Therapy has so many long-term benefits if you find the right therapist for yourself. Stopping negative thoughts is a critical part of learning about yourself and becoming self-aware.
If you are self-aware, negative thoughts will be there but far less compared to when you are on autopilot all the time. Our inner voice can be our harshest critic and we have to learn to break the negative loop.
The process of breaking a negative circle of thoughts can be difficult for most of us but especially if you are dealing with mental health issues. Finding a therapist to become more self-aware, mindful and present is a great way of breaking a circle of negative thoughts and becoming more authentic. If other practices don’t work, there is nothing wrong about finding extra support.
Keep in mind that it takes time to become more connected to yourself and your surroundings. It’s a difficult process to become self-aware but anyone can achieve it.
