You know that, when you're just enjoying life and suddenly you have that feeling, "How did I get here?" A moment when you are self-aware. So being self-aware is something that everyone experiences from time to time, but how do you approach this structurally so that you don't live on autopilot, but live consciously.
What is self-aware?
This is a very good question. Everyone is self-aware to a greater or lesser degree. As a child, for example, you are often aware that you are there and doing things, but you don't always have an idea of where you are going.
As you get older, for example, you often understand better why you do what you do. For example, you take an education or a course because it suits the work you want to do. It often goes a little further than just 'I'm doing this because it feels good'.
Being self-aware includes being aware that you choose to do what you do. Everything you do, whether it is something good or bad, you have thought of yourself[1]. Maybe not very consciously, but they are all choices you have made. Sometimes in a split second.
What you do is sometimes visible to other people as well. Some people are more aware of this than others. For example, one person is going to behave differently when other people are around, while another person does not care at all about how they come across or is not even aware that they have a certain appearance. One person is then more self-conscious than the other person[2].
But being self-aware is more than that. It is also about the layers in your personality and thought processes that you have.
Being self-aware is also about being aware of what you are good at, for example. This helps you with your self-confidence , for example .
But being self-aware is also about knowing who you are. Who you are when you can be completely yourself. In that case, you can let your ego live in line with what really feels right for you.
For example, your ego wants to do "as it should," but if that is not something that makes your authentic self happy, then becoming aware of this tension is important so you can ask yourself what you do want. Answering that question makes you more self-aware and allows you to think of steps to get the life you really want.
After all, how it should be done is also just a thought.
In the process, feelings of how something should be can also arise when you are unconsciously afraid of something; being aware of that is quite a transformation, because that awareness can help you overcome your fears and live free of unconscious barriers.
This, in fact, allows you to be very intentional about achieving your life goals.
People who are very self-aware have the following characteristics:
- They have survival awareness as they have developed skills to be physically safe.
- They are aware of their relationships and as a result have developed social relationships that help them have a sense of belonging and a feeling of being loved.
- They are aware of their self-worth and as a result have a positive self-image and a sense of pride in who they are, what they have and what they can achieve.
- They are aware of their shortcomings and can do something to overcome unconscious fears or obstacles.
- They are aware of their internal world and can say something about their purpose in life and/or how they give meaning to their lives.
- They are conscious of contributing to the world and can collaborate with others to make that contribution possible.
- They are aware that making a difference in the world is a way of life and therefore can embrace the idea of helping people without wanting anything in return[3].
Developing self-awareness
If you've searched on being self-aware, chances are you've already taken a first step toward developing self-awareness. Chances are you feel you need something, but you're not sure what yet.
That question leads you to become aware of a particular problem in your life or in society that you can offer a solution to (source 3).
To develop awareness, sometimes you need certain experiences where you encounter yourself[4]. You then become aware of fears or norms and values that you apparently had unconsciously. This is also why it is so important to occasionally do something that is out of your comfort zone or at least something you have not done before.
Developing your self-awareness also takes important steps to be successful in your career[5]. This is because it helps you make your decisions because you are not doing what is supposed to be done, but can think carefully about what will work for you. In addition, this also makes it better for your performance and helps you to be authentic, to be yourself .
One way to promote self-awareness is to reflect during and after completing a task on what you are doing, why you are doing what you are doing or have done what you have done.
You then have on one side that you explore your inner self, on the other side you observe yourself (source 5). You can refer to these two actions as being self-aware.
Hypnotherapy for being more self-aware
A hypnotherapist also has techniques that can help you with self-awareness. For example, if you notice that certain patterns keep recurring in your life, but you don't understand why this is happening. In fact, much of what you do comes from unconscious beliefs. These are precepts that you thought up somewhere in your early childhood about how the world works and how you can best function in it.
If you're completely fed up with a particular pattern, a hypnotherapist can use regression, for example, to take you back to the first time you experienced a certain feeling that now fits that pattern. That is often the moment when that unconscious belief was created.
Then, in hypnosis, you can do something with that moment, such as reinterpret it. This allows you to better understand why you reacted the way you did then, and what caused you to hold a certain belief that no longer works for you now.
On the other hand, this allows you to let go of that limiting belief and come up with a new one that better fits the situation now that you can look at it with more knowledge of the world[6].
So being self-aware doesn't just mean being aware of who you are, what you do and why you do it. It also means that you can change that awareness precisely because you are living more consciously.
In addition, becoming aware of your life story can also be helpful for you. Usually we tend to remember very well the things we didn't do well, and that can be very inconvenient. For example, when you are looking for new work. By also being aware of the things you did do well, you are more powerful and can even negotiate better when looking for a new job.
A hypnotist can help you determine your life story and even look at certain facets of your life story that are important to your goals. After all, you may have a very different life on a relational level than on a business level.
This awareness can then help you move forward[7].
In addition, you can also use self-hypnosis to be more self-aware. For example, you can start or end your day with self-hypnosis and use it to reflect on your day or, on the contrary, to set the intention to live consciously and to make conscious choices.
A hypnotherapist can teach you self-hypnosis to get started with it. In addition, self-hypnosis can also be used well to unwind and reduce stress.
Want to learn more about hypnosis and how to use it to help yourself and others? Then come to the free online master class on hypnosis.
Or enroll in one of our seminars or trainings. In training, being self-aware also plays an important role, because your own obstacles can affect your qualities as a therapist. Therefore, you will often work on yourself a bit, so that you can help other people even better.
Sources:
[1] https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0959438803000436
