Self-awareness and its Importance in Leading your Life and achieving Career Goals

SHORT STORY ON KNOWING AND MANAGING YOURSELF:

💭 “I woke up in a dark mood. It mirrored the weather outside. I didn’t want to go anywhere or do anything. But I knew this Ennie. When she showed up, nothing would move forward until I had taken care of her. She was my “Inner Child Ennie” that needed soothing, a cocoon and reassurance that all would be well. Once I gave her that, the grey sky turned beautiful, and the weather became just right for a productive day filled with learning.

It took me many years to develop this awareness, to notice my moods, feelings, and emotions, to understand their source, and to learn how to manage them with compassion.

☀ DEFINING SELF-AWARENESS:

The Oxford Dictionary defines self-awareness as “conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires.”

Wikipedia defines it as “the capacity for introspection and the ability to recognise oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals. You recognise your environment, body and lifestyle in the moment.”

☀Why is Self-awareness important FOR leading your life and achieving career goals?

🌀 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ): Self-awareness is a cornerstone of EQ. When you understand your feelings and what triggers them, you can manage or even regulate your reactions. You also learn to use your emotions to manage yourself and relate better with others. For example, staying calm when provoked and responding appropriately after assessing your options.

🌀 MAKING USE OF YOUR ABILITIES: Knowing your strengths and your limitations allows you to leverage what you are good at while working on areas that need improvement. This builds self-confidence, self-worth, and assertiveness.
🌀 MOTIVATION: True motivation is internal. By knowing what drives you, you can use it to stay on track in achieving your goals or coaching yourself out of a slump.
🌀 CHANGING YOU: When you are aware of your patterns of thinking,  behaving, and responding, you are in a better position to change them if they no longer serve you. Shifting habits requires a high level of self-awareness, as the beliefs we hold about ourselves shape our behaviours.
🌀 LEARNING/PERSONAL GROWTH: Life is full of lessons – in your body, your relationships, and your environment. The more you pause to reflect and build your self-awareness, the more you can grow and learn from these experiences.
🌀 HEALING: There is a direct link between your thoughts, emotions and how they affect your body. For example, fear can cause an unsettled stomach, and stress can cause headaches and stiff joints. By recognising these mind–body connections, you can use self-awareness to manage emotions, shift thoughts, and even support healing.
🌀 GOAL ACHIEVEMENT: All of the above contribute to achieving your goals. Therefore, unless you develop self-awareness (truly understanding yourself), you are likely to not reach your targets, and this may involve unnecessary struggle.

🌀 WHAT NEXT❓❓❓

Commit to self-coaching using the GROW coaching model to achieve meaningful change:

🔆 GOAL: what do you want to achieve in terms of self awareness?
💬 Consider making developing self-awareness one of your priorities/goals to help you achieve your yearly plans (or new goals) while also improving your relationship with yourself and others.
🔆 REALITY (Current Situation): Where are you now? How far are you from your goal? What are the issues and challenges?

💬 As a starting point, you need to do a self-assessment so that you create a baseline and identify where to focus your self-coaching.
🔆 OBSTACLES: What could stop you from achieving your goal?

💬  It is important to anticipate challenges and prepare for them in advance.

🔆 OPTIONS: What choices or strategies are available to help you to overcome these obstacles or move forward?

💬  List as many action options as possible without limiting yourself to your current reality.

🔆 WAY FORWARD – convert options into actions.

💬 What actions and self-coaching practices will you commit to for you to develop self-awareness. For example, below are 10 possible actions or practices (I will share tools for these):

👉🏽 daily check-in and check-out
👉🏽 mindfulness /presence exercises
👉🏽 journal writing
👉🏽 regular review and reflection
👉🏽 asking for feedback regularly
👉🏽 practicing positive affirmations and self-compassion
👉🏽 understanding your character and personality
👉🏽 changing thought patterns
👉🏽 working on any limiting beliefs you have about yourself
👉🏽 quiet time and meditation

❗TAKE ACTION once you have selected your self-coaching options.
🔆 WRAP-UP : After deciding on your actions, remember to –
✔ take the actions consistently
✔ review and reflect on progress
✔ capture learning and apply it
✔ be accountable to yourself and others
💬 In conclusion, the planned self-coaching tools and guidance that I will share will support these and help you develop your self-awareness.

💬 Your questions, comments and feedback are always welcome.

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Written by: Ennie Chipembere Chikwema

Coach, NGO Institutional Development Consultant and ECLC Director

E-mail: ennie.chipembere@eclcglobal.com

LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ennie-chipembere-chikwema/

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X: @EnnieChipembere