There is so much talk around how to become more self-aware, or practice more self-awareness, that it felt important to also talk about some reasons why practicing self-awareness can help improve your life. Because there’s no use sharing that we ‘should’ be doing something if we don’t have any understanding of the ‘why’.
- You can’t work on what you’re not aware of – Imagine feeling unwell, so you go to the doctor. Except you sit there, unable to even tell them where it hurts, or what kind of unwell it is. So Doc sits there, not knowing how to help you, because you don’t know how to help yourself. In a time where growth is definitely a ‘thing’ (and certainly something this writer advocates for, in safe, useful ways for individuals), working on ourselves has become more of a widely understood practice than ever before. But just like rehabbing certain areas of physical injury, we need to have an awareness and understanding of what is going on first before we can even begin to address things. Otherwise, it’s a whole lot of (often misplaced) effort for a whole little return. Generally, it’s these scenarios that people fall in to when they turn around and say there’s no use, because they never get anywhere. When really, they may just not have the tools or the determination to actually look at what’s going on underneath the ‘symptoms’, just aiming towards the fix.
- Stress can increase when we don’t know where the ‘enemy’ is – Have you ever experienced overwhelm on top of already feeling quite ordinary, because you can’t understand just why you’re feeling so awful? When we don’t know where our pain point is coming from, and can only feel the pain (whether physical, mental, emotional), it can feel overwhelming and stressful when we’re wired to problem-solve and find the solution. When we are in a place where we’re able to acknowledge the ‘what’, it eases the pressure of wanting to figure it out on top of experiencing all at the same time. That pressure release can give us just enough room to then begin the healing process. Without it, there’s no space to function as optimally.
- Ignorance isn’t bliss – While it might be tempting to lean on the old mentality of ignorance being bliss, when it gets in the way of us being able to grow, learn and understand more about ourselves, and even helping us to feel more fulfilled in how we connect with others, ignorance is limiting and keeping us small. That’s not to say growth is always ‘bliss’. Growth through self-awareness can sometimes be confronting and tough as we peel back those layers, but we are always moving forward with it. At some point, it becomes a choice.
There are probably a million more reasons why practicing self-awareness can be beneficial, but for just three, it’s a great start to finding your why in approaching how you want to experience your life.
Photo by Vince Fleming on Unsplash