What is one thing that keeps you…
From being as effective as you want to be?
From using your time in a way that garners the greatest results?
From exercising the self-discipline you want to live in?
From responding to others in the manner you want to?
From being able to capture the essential in a conversation and come to agreements faster?
From establishing and maintaining excellent relationships?
From living in integrity, where your vision and goals define your actions?
One possible answer to all those and more is self-awareness.
Most often, people are not trained on the skill of stepping outside of or above our thoughts to notice how we are observing and responding in the moment to the circumstances we face. But there is great value in developing the practice and skill of self-awareness. It is a practice and a skill we can learn, like any other skill. And it’s a game changer!
Why?
We have stories from our past that impact how we see the present and the future.
We have emotions and moods that impact how we handle the present, and how we create our future.
We have habits and practices that inform our decisions and impact how we show up in the present and the future.
Leaders lacking self-awareness lack the ability to stay in choice. Without self-awareness, not only are we not in choice, we are not in control. With self-awareness, you are observing the you that is showing up in any given situation. Your body, your thoughts, your emotions, your stories, your habits, your tendencies. This puts you in a position to choose what body, thoughts, emotions, stories, habits, or tendencies you’d like to bring to the situation.
With this choice you control your present and your future.
Here are three ways to increase your self-awareness:
- Take 5 minutes three times a day to meditate. In those five minutes, notice your breath. Notice your body. Release tension that is resting in your body. Notice any thoughts and notice that you are not your thoughts, and you can release them and maintain your focus on your breath.
- Set notifications for seven or eight times a day, and when your notification sounds, ask yourself this question in the moment: “What’s my story?” Simply reflecting for a moment on whatever your story is about what you’re doing is a way to develop self- awareness.
- In times of tension or conflict, before moving or speaking or responding, notice your body, your thoughts, and your feelings. Observe from a neutral position how you are postured, what you’re saying to yourself in your head, and what is showing up in your emotions.
Simply noticing is a way to grow self-awareness. You can use this self-awareness to put yourself in choice. In choice, you can act to increase effectiveness, choose how to use your time in a way that garners the greatest results, exercise self-discipline and see the impact, respond to others in a way that opens relationship, and maintain integrity.
That’s powerful self-leadership. And the first person a great leader must lead is Self.
Christine Rose is a world-changer, internationally bestselling author, speaker, and coach. A Forbes Coaches Councilmember, Canfield Certified Trainer, Certified Value Builder Advisor, Certified Core Values Coach, and Certified Psychological Safety Coach featured on Forbes, Public Interest Radio, and National Business Radio, she coaches CEOs to grow leadership, effective teams, and high value companies. www.coachchristinerose.com