Unravel Yourself: Self-Awareness

Are you capable enough to run a country? Do you find yourself emotionally intelligent enough to conduct a therapy session with someone who is suicidal? Or without your hands trembling, can you do a surgery?

No! Why? Unless you posses leadership qualities you can’t govern a country. Only a qualified therapist can conduct a therapy session. Eligible surgeons can perform surgical procedures. Because they have expertise in their discipline. This optimistic approach is because of self-assured attitude of them. Same goes for ourselves as well. When we are aware of ourselves, we will become the best version of ourselves. It starts with “Self-Awareness”.
Self Awareness is a subject not new to philosophers who have been emphasizing its importance from the beginning. But It is a subject much less talked about. Lack of self-Awareness results into people out there who aren’t aware of their self-worth. In order to be the best version of ourselves , we need to know and appreciate our strengths and lovingly work through all weaknesses, traumas, insecurities by acknowledging them in first place.Self-Awareness can be challenging. We are raised in different kinds of environment, different parenting, different neighbourhood. So we exhibit different kind of mindsets. We all have certain kind of traumas or insecurities that needs to be healed. Healing traumas means to relive them and it can be challenging, we need not be hard on ourselves.
Here are some insights towards self awareness:

1. Insecurities/Weaknesses:

Undergoing certain inadequacies concerning one’s body, skin, social status, relationships etc. What we need to do is to accept them as part of ourselves and then lovingly work through them as everyone is unique in their own way, but know that there is a difference between acceptance and avoidance. For instance, if you stop using social media because you feel insecure by seeing beautiful people. Then what will you do when you see someone beautiful in-person. The problem is not with the people out there, it is with us. Insecurities feed issues to our mental health like low self-esteem, self respect etc.

i. Low self-esteem

What basically self esteem is? Self esteem is how we value and perceive ourselves. Do we perceive our self worthy of love, worthy of being treated nicely? worth having a good life partner?Do we value our self as much as we will value someone we love? People with high self-esteem consider themselves worthy of all beautiful things alternatively people with low esteem settle for either “Nothing” or “Bare minimum” .Low self-esteem has several reasons, such as we were entirely neglected in our childhood. Because a lot of personality issues which we have right now stem from our childhood. We all have that inner child in ourselves that needs love and attention. That child needs to heal from burden of guilt and shame. Uplift self-esteem by:

• Forgiving ourselves for everything.
• Loving ourselves unconditionally.
• Accepting ourselves with flaws.
• Repeating “Powerful Positive Affirmations”

ii. Low self-respect

Don’t forget, “People will treat you as you treat yourself” or ” People will treat you exactly what they feel about you”. If they find us insecure, shy or people pleaser they will treat us like an option. Self esteem and Self-respect go hand in hand. Having firm “Boundaries” is really necessary when it comes to protecting our self respect. Don’t let people break them. For instance, If someone makes a rude joke to you and you don’t like it. So, create a boundary by saying, “Hey, I don’t really appreciate what you just said. Be careful while saying such things about me”. And If they do the same thing again cut them off.

2. Strengths:

Despite of the fact that our brain is biased to negative things which is referred to as, “Negative Bias”. If we are conscious of our strengths, it makes us feel proud it can be our; determination, observation, honesty, kindess, professionalism and much more.We should focus on our achievements and success rather than loss and failures.Journaling and shadow work can reveal numerous unknown aspects of our personalities. Consequently, along with enhancing our strengths, convert our weaknesses into strengths as well. Here are some approaches to find out your strengths:

• Ask Yourself: No one knows you better except you.
• Ask the people you trust: It can be your relatives or friends.
• Take strength tests: Easily accessible online.

All of this brings us to conclude that Self-Awareness is one’s prime responsibility to become the best version of oneself. Being aware of ones’s weaknesses is as undeniably significant as acknowledging one’s strengths. If you aren’t aware of yourself, you are not aware of anything. Being aware of your self not only boosts your confidence or leads you to better decisions making it also allows you to grow personally makes you more proactive and helps in building long-term healthy relationships with others.