The importance of self-awareness and how to enhance it

By Beth Benatti Kennedy

Self-awareness is crucial, as it allows individuals to understand their emotions, strengths and weaknesses. By fostering self-awareness, you can make better decisions, build stronger relationships and achieve both professional and personal growth.

Self-awareness encompasses understanding your purpose, mindset, and personality type. Purpose provides direction for where you would like to see your career and life move. Adopting a growth mindset that you have control over your personal and professional achievements helps you move forward confidently. Knowing the strengths and challenges of your personality type helps you work more effectively, particularly in collaborative environments.

Here are five key practices to get started on enhancing your self-awareness.

1. Name your emotions

Start by naming your emotions. Research shows that identifying and naming your emotions can decrease activity in the part of the brain responsible for reacting emotionally and to channel it to the part of the brain responsible for more analytical thinking. Whether in a work or personal situation, this technique can be valuable for managing your feelings and avoiding being overly reactive with others.

Four steps to help you name your feelings:

Identify the emotion: Begin by taking a moment to identify what you’re feeling. Is it frustration, exhaustion, joy, or something else?

Name the emotion: Once you’ve identified the emotion, give it a name. For example, if you’re feeling exhausted, you might say, “I’m not quite myself today as I am exhausted.”

Acknowledge the emotion: Acknowledge that the emotion is there and that it’s okay to feel that way. Don’t try to ignore the emotion. Emotions are a healthy part of life.

Express the emotion: Find a healthy way to express the emotion even if it’s not right away—you may need to wait until the timing is right or talk with a trusted colleague. Other ways to express emotions include talking to a close friend or a therapist, writing in a journal, or doing something creative like painting or drawing. 

2. Move out of your biased blind spot

The second step in enhancing your self-awareness is to move out of your “bias blind spot”, a cognitive bias that can cause you to be less aware of your own biases than those of others. This can cause you to assume that others are more susceptible to biases than you are. For example, you might think another person’s stance is influenced by various biases, whereas your own stance is perfectly rational and well-justified. By recognising and mitigating its effect on yourself, you open yourself to greater self-awareness and fairness in your perspective.

Be grateful for honest feedback from colleagues, even if that means acknowledging and apologising for unconscious behaviours or unintended outcomes. Approach their perspective with genuine curiosity, as that will help build trust and encourage more effective, harmonious working relationships.

3. Accept and encourage feedback from others

Ask your friends, clients, and colleagues for constructive feedback. Without feedback, it can be difficult to know where to improve. Seeking feedback from individuals whom you trust and who know you well, and identify the feedback that can add impact to your career. Start by focusing on one small change that can make a positive impact on your career and relationships.

4. Talk to yourself in creative, positive, and constructive ways

Almost everyone engages in self-talk, consciously or unconsciously. When done positively and constructively, it can be a healthy and productive habit that promotes problem-solving and clearer decision-making. Use self-talk as an opportunity to integrate feedback and insights you have gathered, especially when tackling challenges. When you find negative thoughts are clouding your judgement, use positive and compassionate affirmations to turn your “mind boat” around.

Sometimes, it helps to use second or third-person pronouns when talking to yourself. This can take some pressure and allow you to evaluate the situation and rethink your decisions from a distance. Thinking out loud can also facilitate solution-finding. If you find it difficult to organise your thoughts, use a pen and a piece of paper to write down the critical information before “making a speech” to yourself. The self-talk does not need to be motivational but should be fit for purpose. 

5. Create a dream board or vision journal

Finally, creating a dream board or vision journal helps you visualise your personal and professional aspirations. It’s easy to get caught up in day-to-day demands, only to look back and realise that time has slipped by without significant progress towards your larger goals.

Dedicate a notebook or journal and use it to dream without limits. Begin by focusing on small goals you would like to accomplish in six months, one year, three years, and five years. You can be specific and add categories like career, personal, well-being, financial, travel, connection, and innovation. Every time you accomplish a dream or vision, record the date. Over time, you will look back on dreams you thought were impossible to achieve when you wrote them down and be amazed at the ease with which they were accomplished. This will not only advance your career but your personal life as well.

By incorporating these practices, you can cultivate a deeper understanding of yourself. Enhanced self-awareness can help you navigate life with confidence, empathy and purpose, ultimately enabling you to reach your highest potential.

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About the author

Beth Benatti Kennedy has more than twenty-five years of experience as a leadership coach, resiliency-training expert, and speaker. As a leadership coach, Beth guides leaders to develop resilience habits to support peak performance, maximise their professional and personal impact, positively influence the people they work with, and build their brand. Beth is also the co-author of ReThink Resilience: 99 Ways to Recharge your Career and Life.