The Inner Path: Watch You in Action

“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” ― C.G. Jung

Are you self-aware? Would you know if you were? Well if you're still pondering about who you are, what your passion or purpose is, then you need to stop searching and get to know you better, because self-awareness is not a goal, but a continual learning process. The better you understand yourself, the better you're able to accept or change who you are. 

How you see yourself just may be clouded by the feedback messages you receive about yourself from others. But how could anyone know more about you than you? You're in the dark about yourself when you're continuously getting caught up in your own internal struggles, such as mental or emotional drama about your upbringing or you're allowing outside forces, such as the media, including social media, societal norms and the friends you chose, to mould and shape you.

• Self Awareness is having a clear perception of your personality, including strengths, weaknesses, thoughts, beliefs, motivation, and emotions. 

• Self Awareness allows you to understand other people, how they perceive you, your attitude and your responses to them in the moment.

But to answer the question Who am I?, you must first learn to become more aware of yourself. To be aware, you must stop and pay attention to you and the things you do. You need to actually stop and objectively watch and experience yourself in action... yes, watch you in action. Here are some ways you can become more self-aware.

• Be honest with you. Look at past issues you've had with people and see where you might have messed up.  To do this, turn the focus back to yourself and see if there was something you did to push someone's buttons, start an argument, or prolong a disagreement. 
• Listen to what you say. When you do find yourself in an argument with a close friend, listen closely to what you are saying... you might have done something without even realizing it. If the person seem hurt, ask them to share their frustration with you so you can learn. If the relationship is done and over, then go back over the attitudes you've had toward them.  This would be a good time to reflect on your actions and admit that you had a part in how others treat you. 
• Understand your role. Self-awareness is important in your interpersonal relationships, but you also have to balance it. Use the act of self-reflection to determine how your actions affect your friendships, manners and self-esteem.  Don't do it to act as a martyr or take the blame for everything. Balance it by understanding your role and acknowledging the things you do or did wrong.  Relationships are a two way street, but taking responsibility for your actions will help you keep a harmonious social life.

Self-awareness means that you're clued into to what you really enjoy and dislike. Making changes in your behavior is much easier to do when you catch hold to those clues early in the dynamic.  Before the momentum of emotion has gathered steam you want to stop the emotional reactions and develop meaningful communication and respect in your relationships. So watch you in action and create self-awareness... create you and know you.