Ep.10: The 2 main parts of Self Awareness and how you can start today
There are 2 main parts of self awareness. In this episode I tell you the benefit of both and how you can start practising them today!...
Episode Transcript
How can I start today?
Welcome back to the Wisdom Practice Podcast. If you're someone asking the question, how can I start today, what can I do right now to build up my self-awareness and start overcoming the conditioning that has led to a life situation you're not happy with, or a certain job, or a certain feeling you're stuck with, or a thought that keeps going around your head — then this episode is for you.
I briefly go into one of the more popular techniques for self-awareness, which is journaling in a specific way, but I also go into something you can do whenever, regardless of who you're around, what you're doing, or where you are. There are no limitations on this practice, and it can help you skyrocket your self-awareness, and again help you get some relief from the thoughts running through your head and bringing you down. So I hope you enjoy this episode, and I'll see you in there.
The two major parts of self-awareness
In my opinion, there are two major parts of self-awareness. There is the more common part of reflecting and journaling and trying to understand why you did something in retrospect — not why you did something through the lens of a belief, but trying to understand what actually caused that reaction or action, and why you felt the need in the first place to do that.
It's easier to look back in retrospect
That's one part of self-awareness, and most of it is done in retrospect, which I think is really important because it's easier in retrospect. In the moment, the reason you react from emotion is because it's difficult not to. So when you're out of that triggered space or emotional space, and maybe you're journaling later that night, it's easier to look back and look at the scenario objectively — whereas when you feel triggered and you're in that emotional space, your vision kind of closes on you, and it's hard not to react because you're triggered, which is fine.
So I think that's a crucial part when you're starting out: being able to reflect and slowly open up your awareness through that.
Being present: the trickier part
The other key part of self-awareness is being present, which is a big topic we'll go into in more detail at some point. But being present means being conscious of what you're doing in the moment, so that you're not actually reacting, so there's nothing for you to later journal on in terms of why you unconsciously did this thing, or reacted this way, or said this thing.
This is the trickier part, because when you have an emotional trigger that's big and really strikes a chord with you, it envelops you. You just become that, and there's no space, no awareness, in that reaction. That's why journaling, for example, is a great tool — you can look back through your day, see where and when you reacted, and look at it from a more objective space, because you're no longer in that triggered emotion. But being present is trying to stop that loop there and then.
Showing up to life conscious and present
It's going into life, showing up to life conscious and present, so that you're paying more attention to how you react and why you do things and how you behave. Your attention is on your inner self rather than the environment.