Are Self-Aware People More Successful?

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Have you ever considered that your journey inward and a true understanding of yourself might be a pivotal part to your success? Self-awareness is an essential skill for all of us. It can lead to success both personally and professionally.

What is self-awareness?

Self-Awareness is having a clear perception of your personality, including strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotions. Self-Awareness allows you to understand other people, how they perceive you, as well as your attitude and your responses to them in the moment.

How do you develop self-awareness?

Ask yourself:

What are my strengths?

My weaknesses?

What is important to me?

Where do I find my value?

Study the list below showing qualities of someone who is self-aware vs. someone who is not. Which person do you think would be the better leader? Teacher? Business owner? Etc.? Self-awareness holds more value then we tend to think. While most think the answers to success lie outside us, and that we must grasp to obtain them, the truth is that the key to our success lies within us. What we believe, what we want, having a keen understanding of who we are as people, and developing our character determine a great deal of how successful we will be.

Determining Self-Awareness

Self-Aware

-Confident and secure

-Take responsibility for their actions

-Show kindness

-Continuously learning

-Know what is important to them

-Emotionally aware and know they are more than what they are feeling in the moment

-Open and willing to listen

Not Self-Aware

-Insecure

-Blame others and make excuses

-Bully others

-Think they have all the answers

-Go with what is convenient at the time

-Ruled by emotions

-Closed off and easily offended

How can growing self-awareness increase my success?

1.) Knowing your strengths allows you to more effectively use them.

You’ll begin to make better decisions about how to spend your time intentionally.

“The secret of successful people lies in their ability to discover their strengths and to organize their life so that these strengths can be applied.” — John C. Maxwell

2.) Knowing your weaknesses allows you to grow and improve upon them.

For starters, you can't fix a problem until you know you have it. It can be hard to take a good long look at yourself in the mirror and see where you are weak. But in order to grow beyond where you are now you must continue to seek out your blind spots and make room for growth and learning.

3.) You will understand yourself better and accept your limitations.

By becoming self-aware you will begin to realize you are only human. You will give yourself grace, believe in yourself, and know you are more than your actions and emotions in a moment. You will find peace and contentment knowing who you are and what you stand for. You will more easily find opportunities unique to yourself and your own special qualities.

4.) You will understand others and become a better leader.

Regardless of what some might think, everyone is a leader to some degree. Whether it’s simply to a sibling, friend, or neighbor, or to a large team or organization, you are leading someone else whether you realize it or not. By understanding yourself better, you are able to understand others as well. You become more kind, gracious, less judgmental and more open to helping those around you.

People are a part of our journey in life and of the pursuit of our dreams. Therefore, success includes learning more about ourselves in order to be more effective with others.

What are some ways to develop self-awareness?

1. Keep a journal to reflect on each day.

2. Practice mindfulness and being fully present in the moment.

3. Take time alone to travel, meditate or pray. Getting away from our normal environment can help us gain clarity and allow us to look inward without distraction.

4. Spend intentional time alone asking yourself important questions.

5. Become a good listener.

6. Gain perspective and ask others what they see in you.

7. Do self-discovery activities like strength finders and personality tests.

8. Talk to a professional Coach, Mentor, or Counselor for guidance beginning your journey inward.

9. Create/write out a timeline of every major event in your life thus far. Look for themes and patterns. Understanding your story can bring clarity to your future.

10. Write out plans and priorities.

Becoming self-aware won't happen overnight. Like everything worth having, it requires work and time, but worth it on the road to greater peace, purpose and success. Take time to explore the resources within yourself.

**Still have questions? Send me an email at courtneygclucas@gmail.com, I'd love to hear from you!