4 Ways Self-Awareness Can Lead to Success

Ask yourself, “Are you doing your best?”

Most of us spend countless hours focusing or even worrying about how others perceive our performance at work. We want to impress our leaders and love being recognized for a job well done. We want the awards, the accolades, and the promotions that come with recognition from our supervisors.

We even compare ourselves to our counterpart co-workers. How does my work compare to theirs? Who is relied upon to handle the tough tasks? Who is the top producer among us?

Our focus is typically “outwards,” but greater growth is more often achieved by focusing inward.

Learning yourself, your work habits and your abilities is an uncomfortable, difficult task for many. It requires you to take a truly objective view of yourself, and we may not always like what we see. We must take off our rose-colored glasses to see who we truly are.

It is true that “we can be our own worst critic,” so it is important not to be too disparaging. But what’s also true is that no one knows you better than you! It is why employees are periodically asked to conduct a self-evaluation.

A Plan for Growth

Developing a high level of self-awareness takes time. It is a practiced skill that needs to be matured over the years. Here are four tips to get you started:

1.???Identify Your Strengths. What are you great at? Write them down, then find ways to use them in the workplace. Maybe you can volunteer for a project or take on tasks that could benefit from your strengths. Maybe a co-worker could use help in an area in which you are proficient.

?2.???Identify Your Weaknesses. You know what they are. Write them down, and make an effort to learn from them. Seek assistance from others who may have this as a “strength” and find ways to develop this skill set.

?3.???Do the Analysis. Every week, and for every project and every significant work event – ask yourself some questions and document your answers. That way, you can review them later. Did I do my best work? What did I do well? What could I have done differently? How can I improve?

?4.???Avoid Shifting Focus or Blame on Others. This final one is KEY. Frankly, we are good at pointing out the perceived problems of others. But you can’t control others. This only increases your frustration and drains your focus.??

Concentrating inward and making a conscious effort to improve will have a lasting impact. Your performance will improve, and those accolades you seek will follow. Even if they don’t, you’ll constantly improve, and your self-satisfaction will greatly increase.

-Mark Kagy is Inspector General at Citizens Property Insurance Corporation