Elevating the Inner Self-Awareness

Methods other Than Meditation that Promote Greater Insight into Oneself

• Getting daily motivation and wisdom by yourself, can help you achieve your most critical objectives.
• Engaging with your inner and outside worlds on a daily basis is what makes self-awareness more than merely a meditation practice

By Ali Lashari

Whether you’re someone who doesn’t want to meditate or someone who wants to get more out of their meditation practice, these six activities can help you become more self-aware and mindful.

I used to believe that meditation was the only surefire approach to increase one’s self-awareness.  I learnt to focus on myself by engaging in formal mindfulness practice.  My identity was not revealed, but rather that my ideas and emotions were transitory.

Over time, I began to naturally experience more self-awareness even when I wasn’t meditating on a cushion.  As I continued to get insights about myself through my interactions with the environment, I gained a new perspective on self-awareness and how to grow it. I paid attention to those moments because they often highlighted aspects I never addressed in my formal practice.

Instead of seeing self-awareness as something we have to work on, I now think of it as an innate talent that we can tap into.  Meditation isn’t the only place this activation can occur. Many other situations that you are already familiar with can also help you become more self-aware.

Anyone who want to cultivate self-awareness but is incapable or unable to meditate will find this article to be of use.  Looking for self-awareness in interactions with other people and nature can also help passionate meditators examine if their practice has any blind spots.

Our everyday experiences frequently reflect our innermost sentiments and worldviews.  I have some exercises that you can try out if you’re interested.  But before we get to that, let’s examine self-awareness and its significance.

Being Self-Aware: The Elements

Being self-aware is being able to keep tabs on one’s own mental processes, including one’s emotions and ideas.

The practice of mindfulness can help us develop this crucial skill by teaching us to pay attention to the small but meaningful cues that surround us and to observe our thoughts as they come up, rather than letting them run away with us.

Awareness of one’s own emotions is the “keystone” of emotional intelligence, according to the researchers.

We can’t even manage our relationships with other people if we don’t know what’s happening to us.

The researcher doesn’t unintentionally bring up mindfulness in the quote up there.  Equanimity and non-judgment, two hallmarks of mindfulness, are also features of self-awareness.  Just being aware of your internal experiences is insufficient.  Much more important than simply being aware of thoughts and feelings is what you choose to do with them.

Judgement of one’s experience is the instantaneous transition from awareness to a narrative about one’s ideal world.  Instead of being conscious of reality, you begin to resist it.

This being the case, let’s examine the nature and function of self-awareness in more detail.  On the one hand, it’s one of the four pillars of emotional intelligence that Goleman presents.  Contrarily, all three of these skills contribute to self-awareness:

Being aware of your own emotions and how they impact you and those around you are emotional intelligence.

Read: How to develop self-awareness and unlock your full potential

True self-assessment entails knowing one’s own capabilities and shortcomings without letting one’s own feelings of inadequacy cloud one’s judgement. On the other hand, self-confidence means that one’s sense of value and competence is unshakeable no matter what challenges one faces.

Those three components make up self-awareness, and it’s clear that you can’t have a fulfilling existence without it.  Each of those factors improves my health and the strength of my relationships, at least in my experience.

When I tune into my feelings rather than resist them, I am better able to take stock of my situation without getting caught up in the drama.  Because of my ability to sense people’s emotions, I am also more empathetic towards them.

I am better able to determine which projects are within my capabilities and which would be too taxing on my resources when I have a firm understanding of my skills and limitations.  Additionally, I am able to establish appropriate limits in my interactions.

Last but not least, when my self-assurance is strong, I am able to focus my efforts where they will do the best for the group.  In addition, I can give other individuals my whole focus rather than hogging it.  I believe that generally speaking, the more self-aware I get, the better off I am.  In what ways does self-awareness do this?

 The Requirements of the Mind – One Thing That Can Fulfil

The self-determination theory (SDT) adds weight to the idea that being self-aware is crucial if we want to realize our maximum potential. Edward L. Deci and Richard M. Ryan’s Macro Theory of Human Motivation and Personality (often referred to as Self-Determination Theory, or SDT) provides a holistic framework for understanding human behavior, development, and psychological health by centering on three main areas: intrinsic motivation, fundamental psychological needs, and personality development.

According to SDT, everyone possesses what are called “inherent growth tendencies.”  According to Courtney Ackerman’s essay on SDT, in order to encourage these inclinations and provide the best conditions for development, it is necessary to provide the following three psychological needs.

Connectivity: “people need to have a sense of belonging and connectedness with others.”

It is essential for people to feel that they are in charge of their own lives and can influence their own destinies, which is why autonomy is so important.

It’s important for individuals to feel that they can direct their own actions.

Skill: “concerns our achievements, know-ledge, and skills; people have a need to build their competence and develop mastery over tasks that are important to them.”

The Macro Theory offers a holistic view of the following:

             What motivates people to act in a certain way

             Growth in character

             Possibilities and health of humans

It shifts the focus from the quantity (a person’s level of motivation) to the quality (what motivates them) and how that affects their performance and mental health.

Fundamental Ideas Essential Mental Requirements

Specifically, SDT states that in order for an individual to function at their best, they must attend to three fundamental psychological needs:

Autonomy: the desire to believe that one’s actions are motivated by one’s own free will and are supported by oneself.

Competence: The feeling of being able to accomplish one’s goals and make one’s own decisions.

Feeling linked to others, being able to offer and accept help, and caring for one another are all aspects of relatedness.

When these requirements are met, individuals go through:

             Enhanced intrinsic drive

             Better health

             Development of a positive character

When these requirements are not met, individuals might:

             Perish from lack of motivation or succumb to other influences

             Feel emotionally and mentally drained

             Engage in ineffective actions

1. Having the capacity to connect with others via our emotions satisfies our need for relatedness.
2. Having a sense of control over our actions, brought about by honest self-evaluation, is essential for fulfilling the demand for autonomy.
3. Self-confidence gives us a strong personality core from which we can strive for mastery, which in turn satisfies the demand for competence.

Being self-aware is essential for meeting the fundamental psychological demands outlined by SDT.

In a culture where the majority of individuals are striving to prosper rather than just survive, it is essential for our well-being.

The question then becomes, how exactly does self-awareness help you succeed?  Before we get into the meat of this post, let’s examine some examples.

 Increased Self-Awareness and Its Real-World Advantages

The human brain is quite good at building a mental model of our emotional lives from past reactions to certain stimuli.  Being self-aware enables us to recognize our own mental training and prejudices, which can be the first step towards liberating ourselves from them. This kind of information tends to shape our reactions to similar situations in the future.

The ability to distinguish between your internal experiences and external influences is a key component of self-awareness.  If you want to fulfil the psychological needs listed above, you need to learn how to observe your own mind correctly.

The significance of self-awareness has not yet been fully recognized by our culture. The main focus of mainstream education is on enhancing cognitive abilities to handle ever-increasing amounts of information.

Few educational institutions and households emphasize the need of “knowing thyself” in contexts beyond the academic.

At the same time, more and more research is showing that being self-aware can improve many parts of your life.  To give you an idea of what’s possible, here are a couple samples.

 When you know yourself well, you can make wiser choices.

The world has grown so intricate that understanding it solely through data analysis is becoming more and more challenging.  It is common to need to consult other resources in order to arrive at sound conclusions.  Gaining insight about yourself can open doors to foundations.

The individuals were categorized into groups according to their degree of metacognitive awareness, which refers to their understanding of how their cognition works.  An exercise in goal-setting and a “filler” exercise were both given to the participants.  Finally, a new decision-making exercise was finished by all.

It was predicted that individuals with a higher propensity for metacognitive awareness would have an advantage when it came time to make judgements.

 Better relationships are a result of self-awareness.

My connections flourish when I cultivate self-awareness.  Being in tune with my feelings helps me identify and express my immediate needs.

When it came time to set limits or reevaluate my relationships, having an accurate self-assessment and a healthy dose of confidence were also crucial.

“The quality of a marriage is greatly affected by an individual’s emotional intelligence.”

“A spouse’s level of emotional intelligence is a strong predictor of their marriage’s longevity and happiness.”

“A person’s emotional intelligence is among the most important factors that affect marital relationships.”

A more effective leader is one who is self-aware.

Being aware of one’s own strengths and weaknesses is considered a key leadership competency. The leaders that achieve the greatest success are those who make it a priority to learn more about themselves.  By actively seeking out constructive criticism, they combat the inclination to overestimate their own abilities.  Good leaders, learn to accurately analyses themselves in this way.

When you know yourself, you have control over your health.

When we aren’t very self-aware, we tend to ignore our physical feelings.

As a result, we could miss the signs that anything is wrong with our health when they are first appearing.

Being more in tune with your inner experiences is one benefit of developing self-awareness.  This has the potential to bring about better health decisions, better stress management, and earlier disease identification.  Methods that promote health and happiness include practicing mindfulness, keeping a journal, doing body scans, and reflecting on one’s thoughts and feelings on a regular basis.

Methods for Developing Self-Awareness That Do Not Involve Meditation

“To be mindfully engaged is the most natural, creative state we can be in.” — Ellen Langer

There are other ways to increase self-awareness than meditation, which is well-known.  You don’t need a cushion to practice self-awareness; in fact, there are plenty of active alternatives for people who have trouble sitting still or who just prefer different approaches.

Keep a Journal for Reflection

When you put your feelings, ideas, and experiences into writing, you can more easily see trends in your thinking and actions.  You can learn more about yourself in as little as five minutes a day.

Suggestion: Make use of questions like in

So, what set me off today?

In that instant, what did I discover about who I am?

How did my physical self-react when I was happy or sad?

Get Some Criticism Back

Enquire about your impression from people you trust, such as mentors, friends, or coworkers.  We all have habits or blind spots, but sometimes other people can see them.

Important: React to criticism with interest and openness rather than defensiveness.

Pay Attention to Yourself

Physical manifestations of mental or emotional states include stress, exhaustion, or agitation.  When and where pain strikes might reveal underlying issues with unresolved stress or unfulfilled desires, so be mindful of this.

Carry Out Purposeful Actions

Whether you’re cleaning, painting, walking, or cooking, give your undivided attention to the task at hand.  Through focus and flow, these pursuits bring you into the present moment and, in turn, heighten your awareness of yourself.

Give Your Feelings a Name

Learn to consistently describe your emotions by saying things like, “I’m irritated,” “I’m nervous,” or “I’m hopeful.”  You may improve your emotional intelligence and learn to respond thoughtfully rather than reactively with emotional granularity.

Apply the ‘STOP’ Method

Realigning awareness is facilitated by this brief mental check-in:

S: What are you doing?

T: Relax. Breathe.

Observe your internal experiences, external sensations, and physical form.

P: Move forward purposefully

Having said Observations

Engaging with your inner and outside worlds on a daily basis is what makes self-awareness more than merely a meditation practice.  You lay the groundwork for emotional resilience, improved decision-making, and a more genuine existence when you practice mindfulness in your daily activities, whether that’s through writing, listening to your body, or remaining present throughout mundane chores.

According to studies, many of the subconscious ideas, emotions, and motivations that we’re trying to uncover are just not accessible to us.  We have a tendency to fabricate responses that seem valid but are frequently incorrect due to the fact that a great deal of information remains hidden from our conscious awareness.

Concurrently, knowing oneself is the most inherent quality there is. Learning it is not even necessary.  Turning it on is all that’s required.

Do not let yourself be burdened down by the fact that you may forget the exercises I provided you over time.  You will find that you naturally return to it after some practice and the feeling of greater self-awareness.  Instead of learning the conceptual route to being in the here and now and seeing within, you will learn to recreate the felt resonance.

Being self-aware will become second nature to you, not something you can impose, but something that better humans seek out.  Once you locate it, all other factors begin to align.

One of several resources for self-improvement is the Better Humans magazine. Getting daily motivation and wisdom by yourself, can help you achieve your most critical objectives.

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Ali Lashari is Assistant Director (Excavation & Exploration) at Directorate of Archaeology & Antiquities Wing, Culture, Tourism, Antiquities & Archives Department Government of Sindh.

Read: Rediscovering True Joy