I was recently studying some teachings of a child and monk from many years ago and I started to do some reflection about what self-awareness truly is and why it's so important and I wanted to share my thoughts with you.
Self-awareness is our ability to know what we're doing and why we do.
It's the foundation for anyone seeking personal or spiritual growth but on a much deeper level self-awareness is about developing an understanding of our emotions,
Our inner wounds,
Our hurts and our mental and emotional defense mechanisms.
And when we're not conscious of what is going on within us we lack self-awareness.
And without the self-awareness we can fall into many destructive patterns driven by unhealthy and unconscious impulses,
Habits and beliefs that we tend to hold.
Self-awareness can also lead to greater emotional intelligence and that's really important when we attempt to develop any part of ourselves.
So how do we really know if we are in fact someone who has a high level of self-awareness and how do we go about really developing that?
And from taking some time just to reflect on it I really believe that it's our willingness to be brutally honest with ourselves in regards to our daily habits,
Thoughts and feelings.
Whether it's the habit of acting impulsively,
Not being able to identify certain thoughts and feelings that we are having or having a habit of not realizing how much our actions and words really hurt other people until it's too late.
In our efforts to develop it not only would it be wise to focus on the thoughts and beliefs that we have but it would also prove very beneficial to become more conscious of the underlying behaviors and having a better understanding of those behaviors which are our emotions and our instincts can really help us to better explore the thoughts and beliefs which can ultimately lead to and improve self-awareness.
And it was the Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu who said that he who knows others is wise but he who knows himself is enlightened.
And it's great wisdom like this that lets us know that cultivating self-awareness is one of the greatest things that we can do.
It can allow us to have a greater connection to our instinct and intuition.
Now you may be saying okay it sounds good but why is this important for me?
Well there are a few reasons.
One reason is because elite athletes and pro athletes who live our lives under a very intense microscope whether it's every move you make whether every situation that goes on a word you're saying somebody's always watching you as an athlete.
Whether we believe this or not whether we understand it or not it's very true because like I said we are under a microscope more than most people and having a higher level of self-awareness can not only prevent us from having experiences that we may regret but it can also help us to navigate the many moving parts of an athlete's daily life.
Another reason it's so important is because it can allow us to develop a greater connection to our instinct and intuition having a greater ability to control our desires and our urges while also empowering us.
And if you think about this as an athlete whatever sport you play you play that game from your instinct and your intuition.
When you've reached the level of an elite or professional athlete you've developed your craft to such a high degree that you're not doing so much thinking as you play the game you're playing more off of that feeling off of that instinct off of that intuition to know what to do and exactly when to do it.
It becomes almost like second nature but at the same time if we lack self-awareness it can prove to be a hindrance.
Think of how many times we've been watching the game and late in the game a player has a costly penalty or a costly turnover or you know they arguing with a referee or a call that has been made and they blow up get it technical get ejected because they lack self-awareness in those moments.
One of the best examples that I remember is when Chris Webber was playing for the University of Michigan and they were making a run at NCAA championship and in the very crucial moment I think it was against North Carolina.
You know his instinct and his intuition took over and he called a timeout that the team didn't have and that proved to be a very costly mistake that ultimately you know ended up costing Michigan an opportunity to win that championship.
Now I'm not saying that you know Chris Webber lacks self-awareness but what I am saying is that as an athlete we are constantly facing those high pressures high intensity very emotionally charged moments very stressful moments and especially in competition and the greater that we develop our self-awareness the easier it will be for us to draw from that reserve in those very critical moments and it doesn't just apply to us being in competition as well we've all heard countless amounts of stories and reports of athletes who get themselves into trouble off the court off the field or whatever it is they get themselves into a situation that it ends up bringing them a lot of bad attention a lot of frustration stress difficulties whether it's financially or in their personal lives and in the worst of cases we've seen it cost athletes their career and ultimately you know their relationships as well and no matter how we wish to grow or what we wish to achieve or accomplish in our lives having an awareness of self is always going to be very important and before we wrap it up I just want to leave you with this only through proper cultivation of self-awareness can we reach peace within our minds and take an important step towards discovering our true nature.
