Self-Awareness: Why Do We Fear It and How To Master It

No doubt that self-awareness can be a game-changer for you if it's used in the right way. Imagine a life where you are honest with yourself and fully embrace yourself. You would be aware of your thoughts, feelings, and traits/ behaviors. You wouldn't judge yourself anymore or feel guilt over your shortcomings but would be determined to change yourself for good.

Seems incredible, right?

But how can you do that? You might be wondering. If yes, you are at the right place! In this article, I’ll explain what self-awareness is, why do we fear it, the importance of self-awareness in achieving self-understanding and acceptance, and ways to boost your self-awareness. 

What is Self-Awareness?

First, let’s find out what is meant by self-awareness. Generally speaking, self-awareness is an ability to see oneself objectively. During this process, we start observing our thoughts/ feelings and behaviors, focusing on our inner self and practicing self-evaluation and self-control to make the right choices. However, self-awareness is often confused with self-judgment as there is a thin line between these two.

“Self-awareness involves deep personal honesty. It comes from asking and answering hard questions.”

— Stephen R. Covey

Why Do We Fear It? 

Let’s get real. No one likes to easily accept their flaws, toxic traits, or manipulating behaviors. It’s not easy to confront your fears and face the brutal truths about yourself and your life. 

But understand this, that's where the opportunities lie for you! And most importantly, if you find out that you have toxic traits including procrastination, jealousy, manipulating others, self-doubt, etc. Don’t let this thought ruin your mood that something is wrong with you. 

Realize that your life experiences have shaped you but they can’t define you. You have the power to change yourself by embracing yourself! 

A Step-by-Step Process To Overcome This Fear 

Make sure you know how to improve self-awareness if you want to find your way back to yourself. Here is a step-by-step process by which you can aim for a real transformation.

Choose a company of like-minded people

Once you start self-evaluating, focus on the quality of your inner circle. Because by doing so, you will realize that you are not alone and it will push you to keep moving forward. Furthermore, you will get the freedom of expression and will no longer be afraid of being judged by others which can be the main hindrance to your growth. 

Being vulnerable in front of the right people will enable you to master the skill of self-awareness. So prefer to surround yourself with like-minded people who have the same goal of transformation as you. 

Stay away from self-judgment

When practicing self-awareness, learn to opt-in for a judgment-free zone. It might not be easy for you at the beginning and there are high chances of slipping from self-awareness to self-judgment as most of us tend to judge ourselves frequently. 

But realize that guilt is extremely toxic for your self-awareness journey. Love, kindness, and compassion are the essential tools that are required in this journey so that you can live a better life.

Learn to accept yourself

Start observing yourself, your thoughts, and the way you behave, especially in uncomfortable situations. Watch yourself and learn to be mindful. 

No matter what you discover about yourself, be courageous to accept yourself with an open heart. Take it easy. Because the more you believe in yourself, the more you will find the strength to change your life.

4 Proven Ways To Boost Your Self-Awareness 

1. Disconnect from the world

To connect with your inner self, you need to carve out solitude. Lock up yourself in a quiet place and try to avoid distractions as much as possible.

2. Practice mindfulness

By paying attention to yourself, especially your breathing, you can learn to live in the present moment instead of getting lost in negative thoughts. 

3. Journal your thoughts

The best way to discover yourself and clarify your thoughts is to write them down or record them. This will help you to understand what’s necessary and what’s not. 

4. Ask for a positive criticism 

External feedback or positive criticism also helps you in your self-awareness journey but be careful when asking for feedback from others as you don’t have to take everything personal that has been said to you. 

Example Of Self-Awareness

“Self-awareness gives you the capacity to learn from your mistakes as well as your successes. It enables you to keep growing.”

– Lawrence Bossidy

Let’s have a look at one of the common self-awareness examples. As the importance of self-awareness for students cannot be denied, here is a story of a girl who became able to do well in her studies by practicing self-awareness skills. 

Hellen as a college student struggles to perform well in creative writing tasks but can’t. By noticing the discrepancy between her performance and standards, she starts self-evaluating and finds ways to improve her performance. 

She determines to resolve her issue by enrolling herself in the creative writing courses, building a daily writing habit, and asking for a review over her drafts. 

Above mentioned story beautifully exemplifies the power of self-awareness. Without self-awareness, Helen might never be able to improve her writing skills. You can also find hundreds of similar stories around you. 

3 Amazing Benefits Of Self-Awareness 

Undeniably, self-awareness changes the way we feel, think, act or react. Here are the top 3 benefits of practicing self-awareness. 

1. Self-awareness boosts self-esteem, improves self-control, and encourages self-development. 
2. It makes us more proactive and enables us to make better decisions in both our personal and professional life.
3. It allows us to think from others’ perspectives as well which helps us to communicate effectively with people.

Bottom Line 

Nerve ever underestimate yourself after realizing some things that you don’t like about yourself. Be honest with yourself and learn to accept yourself – your insecurities as well as your powers. 

Because once you start accepting yourself, you will be undefeatable. And there comes a time when your weaknesses start becoming your strengths. This is why self-awareness is important for everyone who wants to live a daring life! 

I look forward to your thoughts below and @Zohaibkhan.92