Introducing Self-Awareness: the value and how to of knowing thyself, from the ancient world to modern business and beyond.

What is self-awareness, and why does it matter? Big questions. Big questions that I won’t adequately answer in this one post. But I can lay a few foundations, to inspire your own reflections and provide a platform for further inquiry. Let’s begin then in the ancient world - a fine place to commence our inquiry.

History

The entreaty to “know thyself” was famously inscribed on the forecourt of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi, as the foremost in The Delphic Oracle's 147 maxims. This first maxim was subsequently proposed by Socrates (we’re in the 5th century BC now) as the organising principle for Greek philosophy. Half a millennium later, in his private Meditations, Marcus Aurelius characterises a similar centralising principle for fulfilling human potential. Specifically, he advocates for the value found in self-reflection (that advocacy was to himself - these were musings not intended for publication).

Now fast forward to the advent of Psychology two millennia later (ok, that’s quite a jump, but stay with me). I like to understand the emergence of this discipline as coalescing around the self same ancient Delphic missive we started with, to know the self. And since then, all manner of theoretical frameworks, therapeutic practices and educational institutions found in the mainstream today have grown up in the wake of that burgeoning domain, Psychology.

Of course, the endeavour to “know thyself” has not been restricted to traditions of western philosophy and psychology. The essential teachings of religious orders across Eastern, Western and all manner of other human societies, both long before and independent of the ancient Greek tradition, also sit quite comfortably within that same overarching pursuit.

Albeit I’m offering a potted and abbreviated history, you can see what I’m pointing to. There’s an historic and deeply considered through-line to the notion that there’s meaningful purpose in getting to know who you are. So maybe it shouldn’t be surprising that we all feel, at one time or another, and in our own ways, compelled to embark on that journey of self-discovery. And perhaps we can take heart from those through-lines that this journey could be both an obtainable and a fruitful enterprise from which we can all benefit.

Business

Let’s switch to contexts in business. In the corporate world there’s been a growing trend for adopting principles of self-awareness to better realise the potential of the individual. Not so long ago, if you sat on an ExCo and expressed your enthusiasm for, say, meditation, you’d have been taking a risk. Now it would be more like an accepted attribute of the successful, or a badge of honour perhaps. This is rational. For most (all?) businesses, success depends on the people, and so it makes sense to advocate those things that maximise the people-potential in your business.

It makes even more sense against the backdrop of the highly researched and well documented twin challenges of the Wellbeing Crisis at work and the Productivity Gap in business, both of which cost the global economy billions. Solutions are worth their weight in gold but, despite all the hammering, most fixes seem to be poorly formed and have minimal impact. And the old paradigms still exist too. Though rarely spoken out loud,? the evidence of practice (i.e. what is demonstrated, rather than advocated) suggests that leadership mindsets are often geared toward the ‘toughen up and work harder’ strategy for wellbeing and productivity. I like hard work and I’m in favour of resilience. But if those were the solutions to our wellbeing, productivity and personal happiness, we wouldn’t still have these challenges in the workplace. Working smarter, not harder, might instead be the way.

I applaud, then, Arianna Huffington who cites Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations as a modern-day handbook for leadership. I applaud too, Paul Polman, adopting principles of positive psychology as integral to his strategic playbook. Affirmed with insights gleaned from the technologically enhanced domain of neuroscience, encouraging team members to look within seems like a smart approach amid the fiercely demanding environment of the corporate world today.

Transformation

Doing things differently isn’t easy. It takes a deep engagement with our own psychologies to effect change. If you need evidence of that, just consider that we often know what things we need to do to improve our wellbeing and performance, (e.g. exercise, good nutrition, sleep, practice gratitude, be self-affirming etc etc etc…) but we less often follow through by actually doing those things consistently. Similarly, think of all the great initiatives in the workplace carefully constructed and launched to effect change that flail against the rocks of immutable paradigms seemingly unmoved by our best intentions.

I’m not judging. In fact, judging is one of the things that locks us into unproductive habits and behaviours. But it is interesting. If it was just about knowing what to do, we’d have our solutions. Information these days is not in short supply, so the solution cannot be more information. Rather, it is transformation that’s needed. Transformation of mindsets and the ways in which we relate to ourselves. This is the greater discovery of who we really are and the gateway to doing and being better.

Philosophy

As well as plain good sense, greater self-awareness in business is also philosophically coherent. Typically, our philosophical approach to work and life is wired backwards. Business, like life, is a journey in which you will inevitably meet yourself. What you do with that meeting, how you embrace it, use it, evolve from it: that becomes the pearl of great price hidden within the pursuit of our goals and aspirations. But we tend to think that if we can attain those things we seek, then we can be the person we aspire to be, feel the things we desire to feel, and create the impact we want to create. The truth is, however, it’s the other way around. It’s in the pursuit of those things that you will find who you are, not in the attainment of them. And it’s only in the greater realisation of who you are that you can truly find satisfaction in those things in which you're engaged. Think about it. It’s probably clear to you that whatever you gain in the world is temporary. That’s the nature of things. Important, meaningful, rewarding, worthwhile - yes, certainly. But also, at best, temporary, before we’re compelled toward the next endeavour, the next level of achievement, the next proof of value, the next assurity of our security, the next moment of connection, confidence and calm.

Put still another way: your happiness is not some future destination, nor is it out there in the things and people of the world. Your experience of fulfilment is actually within you, right here, right now. That observation is far from vacuous. It is a profound, incisive, accurate and workable observation from some of the greatest thinkers and most accomplished leaders in history, as applicable today as it was prior to the founding of the Temple of Apollo. Can we say, then, that it doesn’t apply for us? We could think of this observation - that it is who you are that delivers fulfilment, not what you have -? as the most blindingly obvious truth that we continually keep forgetting. It’s also a truth with which, eventually, we must all be confronted. And it is then that we can truly begin the journey of consciously accessing our greatest resource, which is the self within.

Pathways

To that end, (and congratulations by the way, if you’ve gotten this far), I’d like to share a few suggestions, garnered over a couple of decades (lifetimes..?) of inquiry, that may serve you on your journey.

With reference to awakening to who you are, it’s said that straight is the path and narrow the way. Yes… but… there is not just one path, no matter what people say. If there are 8 billion people in the world today, then there must be at least that many ways to know thyself. So the encouragement here is to find and honour your own path, and embrace the unique ways in which you traverse it. Self-acceptance is the cornerstone of self-awareness.?

Self-awareness is also not an intellectual exercise. The capability of the mind is surely extraordinary and apparently largely untapped. We’re told we access just a small percentage of the mind’s potential. Genius, I say, does exist and the potential of the intellect is surely almost infinite. Almost. Whereas who you are, I say, is infinite. As such, you can never truly know yourself through the intellect alone. It is simply not the correct tool for the job, albeit there’s much that can be created with it.

Frameworks

I’m getting metaphysical, so let’s instead get practical. It’s helpful to have a framework with which to self-reflect. Based on my own experience, and on the many people I have been honoured to work with over the years, self-reflection is actually not easy to do on your own. There are all kinds of barriers to it, including time, distraction, demands on your attention, physical and mental restlessness, the complexity of all that is going on in your life, your own subjectivity and bias, not knowing where or how to look… the list goes on.

Being human, we also have internal barriers to self-reflection, sometimes referred to as internal ‘defences’. Defences are very normal, and very valid in light of past experiences. It’s a very ordinary part of our human make up, but also often counter to what would serve us now. You can think of these defences as probably in need of updating, as they may be getting in your way. Often because they are also sitting inside the blind spots of our own psyche. (What blind spots? We’re usually not very good at seeing our own blind spots, because, well… obviously, right?). That said, I’ve never had an agenda to resolve anyone of their defences. In fact the opposite. Awareness occurs best when you’re being honoured in your own process, in your own time. But engaging in your own process is important. Which is why it’s helpful to have a framework to support you in that.

A framework includes a method with which to review all that’s going on in your life: what has meaning for you, your underlying purpose in your endeavours, what’s going well and what you want to change, what’s serving you and what’s getting in the way. It also includes structured time for this - these days, time seems to be one of the great challenges for executives (and let’s face it, for everyone). Importantly, a framework should enable you to reflect on your relationship with yourself too, as the ways in which you relate to yourself provide the greatest opportunity for transformation. And finally, I would suggest that an effective framework includes an experienced and trusted facilitator or coach as your guide.

Of course I would say that, as a coach/facilitator myself. I do practise what I preach, however, and I stand by this principle. I find having coaches and facilitators to be an important part of my own continuing journey of self-awareness. But here’s the important thing about that: in the business of self-awareness, the purpose of a coach/facilitator is not to provide answers. Rather, they provide a framework and create the space in which you can most effectively engage in your own self-awareness and gain your own best answers. As a coach, I’ve always thought of that as a tremendous relief, that I do need to have good questions but I don’t need to have the answers. Because you have those.

Outcomes

OK, bear with me - this wasn’t intended as a direct pitch for coaching, though I guess it’s hard to avoid when speaking to one’s own area of practice. So let’s instead reflect on a few outcomes resulting from self-awareness that might be interesting to you, or better yet, helpful.

Self-awareness will naturally lead you toward meaning. As we engage in what is most essential to who we are there’s an attunement toward our purpose, as the source of what is most fulfilling to us. Interestingly, as we align with personal meaning, the demand for attainment eases too. I’m all in favour of attainment.? Indeed, performance typically increases in the wake of self-awareness. But the self-imposed demand for attainment decreases. I see this as a shift from extrinsic referencing for self to a more secure sense of self, or intrinsic self-esteem. Incidentally, there are well thumbed theories in Psychology around self-actualisation that highlight the self-actualised individual as one who is oriented toward both intrinsic self-esteem and meaning as motivation. Interesting. Interested in being self-actualised, anyone? There is so much more to say here, but for now I offer you this: as you become more attuned to what holds meaning in your life you may find that you are less motivated by attainment, but paradoxically your levels of attainment may in fact either increase and/or become more fulfilling to you. That tends to be good news for business too. (As I say, more on this later).

Another wide reaching outcome on the journey of self-awareness is one I think of as a secret kept in plain sight. The secret is: life really is about learning. Maybe that sounds a little trite or obvious, but I suggest it’s a truth both profound and largely ignored. So much of how we’re conditioned drives us to seek destinations. By destinations I mean the fulfilment of your next goal. I love goals, and think of myself as being very goal oriented. But it’s also apparent that life is never truly fulfilled by the achievement of our goals (think about it, and also see above on the proposed philosophy of attainment). This is because life is really all journey, and the journey is one of learning.?

A Practice

I hope you can see the very practical application in what is being offered here, beyond the philosophical musing. A similarly Delphic observation on the journey of self-awareness is that so much of the separation we experience is illusory, and it starts with the separation we create within ourselves. Put it this way: there is nothing between you and your self-worth, except that which you put there. Easy to say, harder to resolve. Simple in concept, not always easy to practice. But certainly a worthwhile and rewarding endeavour.

I’m scratching the surface here but I also know it’s a lot. A couple more reflections before I close.

First, self-awareness is not practicing self-rumination. Rumination leads to things like melancholy. Self-awareness, on the other hand, leads to freedom, paid for with eternal vigilance. It is becoming more aware of what is present, and then being very intentional is where you focus your attention. In my business, (together with my business partner, the wonderful Renée Elliott, founder of Planet Organic in London), we like to say “what you focus on expands.” There is some great neuro-mechanical science to back this up. (Again, more on that another day). The takeaway for now is: pay attention to what you're paying attention to. For example, if you’re asking yourself “what are all the ways I should have done better today?” your mind will very effectively provide that information for you. Which is ok if that’s useful, but I’m guessing that the results are usually less than optimal. A more helpful inquiry might instead be “what are all the ways I succeeded today?”. As with much of what I’m offering here, it could seem trite but I encourage you to check it out. Notice where you’re focussing your attention, be very intentional in making adjustments to better align with what you actually want, and notice the difference in your experience.?

One last reflection for now that I think you’ll relate to is: as you find your own best answers you will discover that the challenge shifts from finding the answers to living the answers. The answers I’m talking about are less to do with “do yoga” or “drink less caffeine”, though these kinds of answers have their place. Rather, the answers I’m referring to are those more to do with how you go about doing the things you do. This is the practice of continual remembrance of who you are. Because life is indeed all journey, and to travel more effectively, more smoothly, more joyfully - that is the value and practice of self-awareness.

Next Time

There’s a lot here. I hope it’s not too much. I plan to be more singular in each post going forwards. However I wanted to set a wide stage to start. Future posts will drill down into some of what has already been shared, as well as raise new areas of self-awareness, psychology, business and life that I myself would like to better understand. I’m working on the principle that teaching (or at least researching and sharing) is a great way to learn, and I hope you’ll join me.?

To which end, if anything here has been interesting or valuable for you, please comment and react in the ways that LinkedIn allows you to do that. I’ll almost certainly respond, plus it will increase the algorithmic reach to others, and also encourage me in doing more. Thanks.

In loving appreciation for who you are.

Sam Wigan