Today, everyone seems to be throwing around the term “self-awareness.” While it may seem self-explanatory, self-awareness means being conscious of one’s feelings, emotions, and character. Most of us tend to float through time on autopilot with little to no awareness of how we feel, what we are doing, and why we do it. The brain easily forms blueprints of responses to specific emotions, and before long, they become habitual.
Being self-aware means apologizing when you are wrong. A meaningful and heartfelt apology is the greatest gift you can give to someone you have wronged or hurt. It’s important to acknowledge and apologize for our mistakes, wrongdoings, misreading, and misunderstandings. Most people today have become relatively insensitive and are leaning away from empathy and more towards apathy.
So what is the importance of self-awareness today?
It makes the world a kinder place
Being self-aware allows you to approach a situation with kindness and empathy rationally. Everyone has different support needs and belief systems, and we are all going through something. The next time you are angry with someone walking towards you down the street, don’t glare at them, give them the way and avoid a confrontation. Being kind is the key to self-awareness.
Reduces judgmental people in the world
With real self-awareness, you have to learn how to look at all perspectives before judging a situation. Look outside the box and find out if your opinion is built on emotions or facts. Your awareness of what you think and how you feel about a particular topic will guide your judgment and responses.
It makes people around us feel heard
Listening is a difficult skill to learn. Self-aware people try to understand others and learn from them. When having a conversation with someone, it’s essential to make them feel heard and understood. Listening to someone means casting aside all thoughts, ideas, reactions, and predetermined assumptions in your mind and be open to hearing what your counterpart is saying.
Making someone feel heard and understood is makes them feel special. Through active listening, you can learn a few things and understand another person’s point of view.