True self-awareness is being aware of your feelings, character, motivation, and needs and requires the perception of your emotional and mental states. I've dedicated significant attention to this topic and emotional intelligence in my new book, The Power of Emotion.
THE POWER OF EMOTION | CHAPTER 2 | OVERVIEW
Develop Your Self-Awareness & Emotional Intelligence
Countless individuals lack self-awareness for various reasons. Some fear what they may learn about themselves, while others won't commit the time or effort to do the work. Yes, we have to do the work to realize any change in our life.
Do you Know what Makes you Tick?
When you focus on yourself, paying close consideration to your thoughts and emotions as they occur, you begin to learn a great deal about who you are and what it takes to bring out your best – your A-game! This is what makes you tick!
As you increase your self-awareness, you become more intuitive and understand how others see you. Again, it takes commitment and time to realize personal transformation, but it is well worth the investment.
How Important is Self-Awareness to Your Profession?
If you lack self-awareness, without question, it will negatively affect your career.
When interviewing leaders across Canada while writing this book, the importance of self-awareness became abundantly clear. Numerous leaders stated how important a role it played in developing solid relationships with others. They shared that as they became more aware of their strengths and areas needing growth, they increased their ability to self-manage. They were more capable of meeting the needs of others and became more empathetic. In my book, The Power of Emotion, I share their thoughts and perspectives about this subject and emotional intelligence.
What Do You Project to Others?
Not all of us perceive an accurate picture of who we are when we look in the mirror. As you present yourself to others, you project your emotions. If you lack self-awareness, this can be problematic. While this competence is generally an internal process, our body language, such as facial expressions, posture, demeanour, personal appearance (e.g., clothes, hair, etc.), delivers a strong external message about our current state of emotion to others.
If you want to be intentional with your message, as most do, becoming skillful with what your project to others is vital.
How to Develop Self-Awareness
The good news is that it is relatively easy to get to know yourself and what makes you tick. Here are some suggestions to get you started:
- Take an emotional intelligence self-assessment to provide an invaluable baseline for your personal development. It will identify your level of Emotional Quotient (EQ) and social functioning.
- Keep a journal. Writing whatever comes to mind helps you measure your goals but also becomes more reflective of your life.
- Practise being an active listener. Demonstrating you're genuinely listening to others has an incredible effect on personal and professional relationships.
- Ask others for feedback. We learn so much about ourselves from others. They see things we may not realize, which can be an invaluable gift.
Without question, self-awareness is a valuable skill that provides insight into developing and sustaining helpful relations. It is a crucial competency of emotional intelligence. In my book, The Power of Emotion, I establish it as a game-changer in life.
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