Self-awareness is Very Much Underrated.

And too many people are refusing to acknowledge it.

Working in the service industry and just by being an observant person, I’m amazed at the number of people who go through life not once looking in the mirror and wondering, ‘Did I do or say something that perhaps I shouldn’t have?’

Which has made me realize that self-awareness is a greatly underrated skill.

As I've gone through my own transformation, I’ve also learned that self-awareness is a necessity if you want to make changes of any kind.

I wanted to share with you what being self-aware has taught me and how it has significantly improved my quality of life.

Developing the skill of self-awareness will have you CHECKING yourself before WRECKING yourself.

Self-awareness is a beautiful thing.

When you get into the habit of self-reflective behavior, you can see pitfalls a mile away and prevent yourself from making even bigger mistakes.

Sometimes, when you feel lost or as if you’re wandering.

Feeling like things could be better/greener on the other side, being self-aware opens your eyes to the possibility that they may not be and you’re just filling your head with fantasies.

Basically, you can foresee larger problems before they happen or realize that what you thought was a solution to a problem really isn’t.

I’ve been struggling with this lately, and as I sat with myself and explored my feelings and my thoughts, I came to a conclusion.

The fantasies or pictures I paint in my head are just that and nothing else.

They are far from what real life would be like, and making any decision based on that would be a huge mistake.

Too many of us make decisions on a daily basis based on what we imagine it could be like without really thinking things through.

I’m not saying it’s bad to imagine better for yourself.

What I am saying is making an important decision (career, relationship, finances, etc.) based solely on what we believe it could be without thinking of the steps required to make it a reality may set us up for failure.

Self-awareness keeps you HUMBLE and keeps your EGO in check.

And able to ask for help when you need it most.

When I was younger (in my early twenties), unbeknownst to me, I was running around with my ego unchecked.

I thought my thoughts and conclusions were all I needed to make a ‘good’ decision.

But life taught me this lesson the hard way.

I had an ‘identity crisis’ at twenty-three.

I had no idea who I was, what I stood for, and what I genuinely wanted for my life.

Thankfully, I sought out professional help, and it’s thanks to my counselor that I began working on developing my self-awareness skills.

Thanks to the tools she gave me, I was able to develop an intimate relationship with myself, my feelings, emotions, and thoughts and learn how I operate.

This opened my eyes to the truth of how I’d been acting and behaving in the past.

I lived with my ego unchecked and made many mistakes (that I didn’t want to admit were mistakes).

By being self-aware about this, I was able to forgive myself and admit that I did make many mistakes.

And doing so freed me and gave me the opportunity to make different decisions going forward.

It’s the ONLY way you can begin changing your life for good.

It’s required to make changes permanent.

So many of us say we want to change our lives and be the best version of ourselves, but I see so many people quit because the process isn’t easy or convenient.

Self-awareness — the act of looking yourself in the mirror, calling yourself out for your mistakes, and holding yourself accountable, is the stepping stone to change.

Permanent change.

And there’s no way around it.

I remember so many instances in the past (before I sought professional help and learned how to be genuinely self-aware) when I would make promises and say, ‘This time, I will change for good,’ or ‘This time, I will finally make it happen.’

I let myself down each and every single time because I was unable to confront myself.

I was unable and unwilling to look in the mirror and ask, ‘What are YOU doing that’s not working?’

If you can start doing this, if you can start asking yourself the hard questions, you’ve now begun to transform your life.

And once you get a taste for that change, you’ll never want to go back.