Increase Your Self-Awareness With These Powerful Techniques

Most of us don’t like to admit we have shortcomings. We'd rather think of ourselves as unlucky rather than taking a proactive approach and becoming more self-aware. You can become more self-aware though. In this article, I'll discuss why it's important to increase your self-awareness, and provide some techniques for how to do it.

Why is it important to increase your self-awareness?

According to the Eurich group, when we look inward, we can clarify our values, thoughts, feelings, behaviors, strengths and weaknesses. Increasing our self-awareness also helps us realize the effect we have on others. The research shows that people with self-awarness are happier and have better relationships. They also have better personal and social control and higher job satisfaction.

When we look outward, we can understand how other people view us. People who understand how others see them are more likely to be empathetic to people with different perspectives. Leaders whose self-perception matches others' perceptions are more likely to empower, include, and recognize others.

So how do you increase your self-awareness? Read on for some tips.

List your values.

Taking an hour to identify and prioritize your values can tell you a lot about yourself. For example, you may find the work you’re doing is completely out of line with your values. The information you get from this exercise is a good starting point to finding ways to improve your life. You’ll probably find a few surprises when you do this exercise.

Write down your goals.

Defining what you want to have, do, and be in your life is also very revealing. Most of us spend too much time surviving from day to day to think about our goals. Taking time to think about the kind of life you want to experience can make you more self-aware.

Keep a journal.

I’ve talked about the importance of journaling before. There are many books written about this subject. Read one of them and come up with your own journaling process. Writing is different from the constant chatter that happens between your ears all day. All you have to do is grab a notebook and pen to become more self-aware.

Have a heart-to-heart talk with a close friend.

Your friends and family know more about you than you do about yourself. They can see your flaws and strengths very clearly. Be brave and ask them to tell you what they are.

Meditate.

Meditation is a great way to understand your mind. You’ll be shocked by what you find. It’s also great for your physical health, emotional health, and self-awareness. Meditating for just a few minutes a day will reveal a lot about you.

Use your imagination.

Imagine you’re a fly on the wall and visualize how you interact with others. Remember both stressful and happy experiences. How do you think your friends, family, and coworkers see you? How do you come across to others? How do you think strangers see you?

Take personality tests.

There are many free personality tests and aptitude tests available online. Take one and see what it has to say about you. Before you dismiss anything that seems totally off base, really think about the results. Then ask a close friend if they think the results are accurate.

Identify the traits in others that bother you.

What do you dislike about other people you interact with? What does this say about you? Try to be objective and see if you have some of these same traits. We’re often turned off by people who have some of the same traits that we don’t like about ourselves.

These are some of the most powerful techniques you can use to become more self-aware. Some of the information you find might be hard to process, but once you do, you’ll be on your way to living a more fulfilling life.