Living in a world where we are constantly comparing ourselves to others, can have the sad result of us losing ourselves while trying to be more like everyone we see on social media. We find ourselves judging ourselves and others.
In order to live your purpose in life and to be authentically you the first step is to understand who you are. This requires you to be vulnerable and aware of – your weaknesses, your strengths, your beliefs, your goals, your personality, your motivations, and your morals.
These are all the traits that make you who are you and how you respond to the world. Once you understand what you are made of and you have to realize that all of those aspects are capable of changes and improvement.
In this guide, we’ll give you tips on how you can ultimately increase your self-awareness for the greater purpose of becoming the best version of yourself. Self-awareness is one of the key factors in improving your emotional intelligence.
Attracting Awareness
It’s easier said than done, we know! But it all starts with a suggestion to your brain, which can then get it through its filter and allow it to have an impact on how you feel, think and experience.
Let’s have a look at the 4 things you can do to become more self-aware!
1. Get To Know You
Have you ever sat down with yourself and asked the question: “Who am I?”
And more importantly… Would you be able to answer that question if it was asked of you?
The first step in building a healthy awareness of yourself is to understand who you truly are when you look at yourself objectively.
This step is easier if you think about yourself from an outsider perspective. Think about how people who know you well would answer. I find this is the easiest place to start. How would your best friend describe you? How would your family describe you and then you can start to dig a little deeper. Then you can think about your own perceptions of yourself if you were to look at yourself objectively.
During this process, you shouldn’t compare yourself to others, but rather look at yourself as an individual without comparisons while looking at your accomplishments, interests, beliefs, and personality.
Granted, though, you will never be able to map out your entirety on a piece of paper, but you can get to know the most frequently occurring patterns you have, that make the most of your life.
2. Journaling
One of the best ways to keep track of your daily emotions, reactions, and feelings is to keep a journal in which you write down those things.
It’s amazing how putting pen to paper can really put things into perspective;
Writing down your feelings, thoughts, failures and successes of the day will give you a fresh view of how you deal with things.
Journaling is a means of self-reflection to not only see your strengths, but also your weaknesses as it gives you the objective perspective to change bad reactions in the future.
Recording your daily way of acting and reacting will also help you clear your mind and open up space for positive energy.
During our daily lives we can become quite robotic as if we are on autopilot just cruising through our schedules and before we know it, weeks and months have flown by.
To savour every moment of the day, we have to be more mindful of what we do, this means being aware of good and bad habits while enforcing better habits more.
Trying to keep up with a fast-paced world can keep us from enjoying small pleasures like breathing in fresh air or simply going for a stroll around the neighbourhood.
Which tasks during your day give you a sense of serenity, calmness, and happiness?
Is it washing the dishes, meditating, cooking, or exercising?
Ensure that you do these kinds of activities more!
4. Ask For Feedback
Even though it might be a bit scary, it’s important to know what our friends, family, and even colleagues think about us and our behaviour.
Ask those closest to you to give an honest and open, but critical and objective, description of who they see you as, to give you a better idea of what people truly think of you.
Honest feedback from people around us will give us a better idea of who we are and how our behaviour affects our everyday lives.
Obviously, it’s important that you remain open-minded and non-offensive during an honest feedback session from a friend, listening with an open heart might help you recognize something within yourself you never knew was there.
In the end to be more self-aware, switch off your devices and go inward to discover the true you.
Once you make contact with the authentic person inside, you are well on your way to improve relationships around you and your emotional intelligence. You’ll in fact exit the main sequence of emotional and behavioural patterns, opening room for more, new experiences and things.
Everyone that isn’t happy wishes they were. Try these 20 ways to enhance yoru happiness. Event those that are already happy would like to be even happier. A life filled with happiness is a worthwhile goal and readily achievable. A life lacking happiness is a constant challenge. Happiness isn’t just about the big things. There are many small items that color your life and subtly add to or subtract from it.
If you’d like to add more happiness to your life, try these 20 tips:
1. Realize that money is great for solving problems, but does little to increase happiness
Need new tires on your car? Want to make a career change? Money is a great solution. However, once you have enough money to meet your basic needs, happiness is found elsewhere. More money doesn’t make you happier
4. Be mindful.
Let go of regret and worry. Your life is happening right now. You surely don’t want to miss anything
7. Be grateful
You probably have more good things in your life than you realize. Focus on those good things and your mood is sure to brighten
10. Focus on regular improvement instead of perfection
If being perfect is necessary to feel happy, you’re doomed to misery. Be happy with small, consistent improvement.
13. Get things done.
Procrastination is a happiness killer. Consider how much stress would be removed from your life if you got the essentials done on time.
16. Say “no.”
Avoiding agreeing to new obligations too quickly. If your plate is already full, piling on more responsibilities and commitments will only sour your mood.
19. Do something you’ve always wanted to do. Follow a dream or a passion.
Buy a cat or take piano lessons. Learn to speak French.
2. Sleep at least 7 hours each night
If you think you’re thriving on 5 hours of sleep, think again. Every study on the topic has shown that every measured performance metric improves when sleep is increased to a minimum of 7 hours.
5. Eat a healthy breakfast
Feel good about yourself by getting the day off on the right foot. You’ll also be more likely to eat a healthy lunch
8. Get out of the house
It’s easy to get stuck in a rut when you see and experience the same things consistently. See what else is going on in the world.
11. Try something new.
You probably haven’t read your favorite book, eaten in your favorite restaurant, or met your favorite person yet.
14. Spend time with those you love.
Few things can enhance your happiness more than spending quality time with those you love.
17. Smile.
Even if you don’t feel like it, smile. It’s free and you’ll feel just a little happier.
20. Introduce yourself to someone new.
The people in your life have a significant impact on your happiness. The person you meet today may become your best friend tomorrow.
3. Give at least one sincere compliment each day
Focus on the positive in others. You’ll feel better and receive the same consideration.
6. Spend regular time on a hobby you love
Work is required for most of us. Hobbies are optional. Spend part of your free time on activities you do just for fun
9. Find middle ground
Happiness is rarely found at the extremes. The middle path is the sweet spot.
12. Take a 10-minute break each hour.
Not only will you get more done each day, you’ll have more energy at the end of the day to enjoy yourself.
15. Say “yes.”
Some of us are too quick to say “no” to any new opportunity. Make it a point to say yes to new opportunities.
18. Pause.
Poor choices can create challenging situations. Before saying something unkind or making a major purchase, take a moment and calm yourself first.
Who wouldn’t want to experience a greater level of happiness on a regular basis? It’s much easier to be happier than you think. There are many simple things you can do each day to enhance your level of happiness.
Leadership is something that we are all called upon to provide at some point. One of the most common examples given is the parent-as-leader. If you are a parent, then you are required to provide guidance, teach, support, provide structure, and discipline for your children. We all know that there will be times when you must inspire your children to be the greatest versions of themselves. But there will also be times when you need to provide strict and stern instructions that could save their lives! I would argue that being a parent is the hardest leadership skill to learn in your whole life as it is a title you have 24hours a day seven days a week.
An influential leader will know how to listen and make the child feel heard, while at the same time giving them the space and the protection they need to grow.
We all think leadership is a topic that will typically interest businesses, managers, and CEOs. That is certainly very true that these are people who should try to understand what makes a good leader, but I think everyone should.
When your leadership skill could end up being a superpower. Imagine there is a crisis. Imagine that you’re in a public space when suddenly the place collapses. You are trapped beneath the rubble and everyone is panicking. This panic means people are trampling one another. You all need to work together in order to get help. This can only happen if a leader emerges in this crisis. In this situation your leadership skills are a superpower and you can be the one that everyone needs to step up and step forward in that moment. In this situation, the person who rises to become the leader will be the person who is the most informed, and the person who is the most confident. Imagine this situation if no one takes this position it is absolute chaos. Everyone is a capable of being this leader if the situation arises but you need to know how to step up in confidence.
Finally, leadership is something that can make your social life and even your dating life that much more enjoyable. In every relationship and certainly every group dynamic, there is a power structure. Being the leader means being the one who gets to call the shots, who decides the activity, and who takes responsibility. If you can be that person, then you’ll find it does wonders for every aspect of your life and career.
Being a great leader is not about yelling or controlling it is about nurturing, protecting, inspiring, guiding, and sacrificing. One of the most important skills for any influential leader to cultivate, is communication regardless of the role you playing. Your ability to write and speak will greatly impact on the way that people treat you, and the way that they respond to your instructions.
Working with my horses improves my own personal wellness. I have known for a while that horses have something very magical to offer. I often feel so much better after spending time with my horses. It is hard to articulate the magic. I can be tired, sick or just blah, and after spending time with my horses I have more energy and I am so much happier. Even my patient and adoring husband will send me down to ride if I am getting a little grumpy. When I was recently reading an article talking about the power and efficacy of equine assisted therapy. I realised there is a growing body of evidence and science behind it. It’s not just me! Horses have unique traits that mean that they are perfect choice for animal assisted therapies.
Wellness
Working on trust, learning to trust a horse might be the first step in healing trauma. It is powerful and restorative especially for those who trusting others is an issue.
Mindfulnessis probably the biggest shift because horses are very sensitive they will easily reflect feelings and people often experience is as a biofeedback loop. Making it easier to understand their own emotional state.
When in a non-competitive, non-judgemental environment learning new skills and new challenges horses will assist with improving self-esteem and Leadership.
Behavioural modification or self-regulation because in order to communicate with a horse you need to find your calm nonreactive state.
Experiencing challenges with horses empowers individuals and creates self-motivation and positive experiences.
Relationship Management where the experience of developing acceptance and communication with a horse where you need to actively listen to them. Once they feel seen and heard they will respond. The basis of healthy relationships. Learning how to influence others.
Learning to communicateacross language (and species) barriers especially with something as large as a horse, promotes intuition. Improves all your nonverbal communication and understanding of how much you can communicate with intent and body language.
Team work and social skills in a group dynamic leadership and team work are critical pieces.
Intention and personal assertivenessalongside our own boundaries.
I have seen firsthand anxietyreduction, and decrease in depressionand isolation, horses don’t judge and unconditional acceptance.
These are all incredible life skills and skills that are being well researched in the equine assisted learning fields. I have known that these animals were amazing and magical but I continue to learn.
Therapeutic Value
Their therapeutic value is so undervalued. Trauma therapists are starting to realise their value too. As talking therapy in trauma related counselling can get someone to experience their trauma. This can slow down healing process. Some are turning to animal assisted therapies to use nonverbal experiences to process and externalise. This then allows individuals to move through to healing. Horses have been used to help anxiety, depression, ADHD, conduct disorders, addiction, dementia, returning veterans, PTSD, and other mental health difficulties. Even used for physical therapies.
I obviously realise my horses are magical, but it is more than magic there is science. The real magic happens when you understand how to read a horse and what they are trying to communicate with you, your world shifts. You feel more connected and get a greater insight into yourself. Having managed people for over 20 years I really appreciate how important these life skills are. Horses can transfer these skills to people and we are now just starting to figure this out. All of these life skills are part of my emotional intelligence and leadership sessions (not just therapy) so it makes sense that we should learn to be a better person from a horse.
Working from home means we need to adapt. It can be great but it also has its challenges. We need new skill sets that we may not have needed before. The pandemic has meant we need to do and lead our teams differently. Learning how to use empathy is the essential skill required in remote work.
The big change is we need more emotional intelligence. The most important skill is improving our empathy.
Empathetic Small Talk
We need to develop our small talk… and make it count. Pay attention to the individual and let them know it’s all about them. Ask them a personal question, relate the question to something that matters to them. Include family, friends, and pets.
Be visible
Turn on your camera and show up as a real person it allows you to be in a vulnerable space for each other. Embrace it. We get it is awkward but this is the new world so we need to find ways to make it work. Make sure it is a presentable space, so please don’t have your dirty laundry in the background. Way too vulnerable.
Vulnerable leadership
It is ok not to know when the pandemic will end. You can say I don’t have all your answers. Also, I take the time to acknowledge how that feels for someone who wants to be reassured at that time. Everyone has their own challenges that are unique to them. Answers are not always required.
Create a different routine
Everyone finds comfort in their predictable routines so create them. Find new ways to create a rhythm whether that is a phone call to check in personally, or team meetings, or even small tasks.
Find a way to relate to your staff to show up and show you care in a way that matters to them. Empathy matters now, but remember the pandemic won’t last forever.
