Elena Sinopoulou - Self-Awareness

08.01.21 | by Elena 4 Min Read

Self-Awareness

Emotional Intelligence Personal development

Self-awareness is the ability to recognize our emotions, our thoughts, our needs, and our behavior. Being able to recognize who we really are, leads us to the first step of personality development.

The five levels of self-awareness:

1. Understand your strengths and weaknesses 

Make a list of your strengths and weaknesses, which are in fact opportunities for growth.

Example

Strength smileyWeakness sad

Creative

Sincere

Responsible

Goal-oriented

 Diplomatic

Impatient

Overthinking

Self-critical

Too sensitive

Impulsive


2. Ask for feedback from your friends and family
 
Remember that when you ask someone to share with you what they like and what they don’t, you should be prepared for negative feedback. Initially, you may be surprised by the information you gather, so keep it in mind as self-improvement, do not be angry, and avoid looking for excuses. However, as you come to accept it, it will help you make some changes in your life and improve your relationships.

3. Identify your emotions

According to the wheel of emotions, there are 7 primary emotions: love, anger, fear, joy, sadness, disgust, surprise, as well as plenty of secondary emotions which are reactions we have to primary emotions.

''For example, a person may feel insecure. In this case, fear would be the primary emotion, while insecurity would be the secondary emotion.'' 

In order to better understand your emotions, you can keep a daily journal with the various events that happen in your life, what your thoughts about them are, how they make you feel and what you can do about it. Our emotions are triggered by our thoughts. Thus, if you keep a daily journal, it will help you manage your thoughts and cultivate positive emotions.

Example

Action


I am working on a new project

What I think


The result will not be good enough

What I feel


Insecure

What I can do


I can do my best to achieve the desired result and if it is not as good as I expected it to be, I can improve my skills for the next time.


4. Get in touch with your body 

Explore sensations in your body. For example, when you are happy, your body feels healthy and you have a lot of energy, whereas when you feel anxious you might have a headache, you may feel weak and your heart rate may be elevated. Thus, if you don’t know how to manage your stress, physical symptoms will affect your body and daily life. Try to find a form of therapy that is helpful for you, perhaps relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation, or take up some form of physical exercise.

5. Understand yourself under stress

Ask yourself 3 questions which can help you to manage your stress:

  • What makes me stressed? 

Whether you are being under lots of pressure or you are facing big changes in your life or just worrying about something.

  • How do I know I am stressed?

You may feel low in energy, have headaches, a rapid heartbeat, sleep problems or may notice changes in your behavior.

  • What makes me cope with stress?

You can try to eat more healthily, to share your problems with your friends, or to exercise.

Contact us if you want to learn more!