7 Examples of Self-Awareness in Everyday Life

1: Identifying your emotions and what you’re feeling

Our emotions may be the strongest barrier to self-awareness. When our emotions are engaged, we lose our ability to think logically and instead give in to a flurry of ideas and defences that cloud our ability to be impartial. 

Your capacity to recognise these feelings as they arise in the present is one indication of self-awareness. 

This implies that you can always identify and name the emotion you are feeling. Although it might seem simple, doing this is actually quite difficult. Negative emotions, in particular, have a propensity to control our body and mind without us even realising it. Think of it as putting on a pair of sunglasses. Until you intentionally pay attention to them, you frequently forget they’re there.

I go through a variety of emotions during the course of the day. I have a tendency to be too critical of myself and my work when I’m frustrated. In the past, I was less conscious of these emotions and prone to work-related rages. This wouldn’t make me feel any better and wouldn’t actually solve the issue. By improving my self-awareness, I can understand what I’m feeling and address the actual thing that made me upset in the first place.

Checking in with your emotions is the only practical application of self-awareness that you can undertake at any time of day. 

• What feelings do you go through every day? 
• Do you regularly pay attention to your body? 
• What triggers some of your negative emotions?

2: Identifying your main coping techniques 

We use a variety of defensive coping methods in our daily lives in addition to misinterpreting our feelings. These coping skills are frequently ones we’ve acquired through time. Many come from our early years and important life events. 

Being aware of when we become defensive and how we express it is a powerful demonstration of self-awareness. 

Let’s assume that you grew up in a family where you were subjected to incredibly high expectations. You made an effort to strike a balance between her own interests and those of others as she went about her daily activities. As a protection against questions from others, you started to retreat during this journey. This coping technique may occasionally keep you from taking pride in her own work.

If you aren’t SELF…AWARE of this coping strategy, you’ll keep withdrawing in situations that could be growth-promoting chances. You no longer benefits from the coping technique that used to work. 

Everybody has their own coping strategies for dealing with the pain, disappointment, and failure they fear.

The ability to recognise these defences when they arise, comprehend their causes, and determine when they are helpful and when they are not is an example of self-awareness. 

• What coping methods do you use the most frequently? 
• When in life do you become most defensive? 
• What coping skills did you learn as a child that you no longer use?

3: Developing your own beliefs without being influenced by others 

Our culture deceives us about the meaning of life. On top of that, we feel pressure to blend in with those around us because of our need for belonging. We consequently constantly receive messages about what and how we need to think and behave. This not only may be perplexing, but it may also be seriously detrimental to our own happiness.

Your capacity to discriminate between your own beliefs and those of others is an illustration of self-awareness. You can take a step back and ask, “Am I being true to myself right now?” 

I felt the urge to conform to feminine expectations for a significant portion of my life. I spent a lot of time trying to be the “ideal woman” because I believed that I had to care about how I looked and dressed. These activities distracted me from the things I genuinely cared about, which made me feel worse.

By being self-aware about what I value, I can design my life to revolve around the things that will make me happy. 

It’s quite challenging to disregard all of the external cues about what we ought to think. But the more you can identify your own basic principles and develop your own SELF…AWARENESS, the more you’ll be able to design the life you desire.

Questions:

• What do you consider to be your core values? 
• When have you become preoccupied with attempting to please others?
• When have you made a decision based more on the expectations of others than your own?

4. Prioritising what gives you joy and purpose

The majority of you have probably read quotes that scream, “Choose joy!” That’s terrific, I’d love to… if only I knew what choosing joy looked like, you might be thinking if you’re anything like me. 

Knowing what makes you happy can help you prioritise it with self-awareness.

Although this self-awareness exercise is quite simple, many of us neglect to ask ourselves: What makes me happy, and when do I give it priority in my life? Even though we may be aware of what makes us happy, we frequently persuade ourselves that other things are more crucial. 

Our culture is structured in a way that forces us to place a lot of things ahead of happiness. 

It’s not always simple to have the discipline to stick with what makes you happy. Because of this, the first stage is having the self-awareness to recognise what makes you happy.

Questions:

• What brings you joy and a sense of purpose? 
• How frequently do you put joy first in your daily life? 
• What do you prioritise over your happiness, and why?

5. Recognising your strengths and weaknesses 

Because we incorrectly believe that self-awareness implies that we are inadequate, we occasionally avoid it. Looking within feels threatening because we’re terrified of what we’ll discover. 

Examples of self-awareness cover both our good and bad qualities. We also miss out on the good by refusing to face the negatives.

Nobody is perfect (despite what some of us might be conditioned to believe). Even the most successful person you know has to overcome a number of obstacles in order to be successful. Not having any weaknesses is not the goal. 

Finding a means to emphasise your strengths involves being self-aware of your strengths and weaknesses. 

With this level of self-awareness, you can start to live a more fruitful life. While allowing your strengths to grow, you can find solutions and encouragement for your limitations.

Questions:

What are your defining qualities?

What areas can you improve on?

How can you reimagine your life or surroundings to highlight your strengths?

6. Recognising your needs in relationships 

When we consider relationships, two persons come to mind right away. But this “together” viewpoint ignores the uniqueness of each party. By doing this, we drastically restrict the possibility of empowering, healthy connections. 

A good example of self-awareness is understanding what you require from relationships.

Although it may seem extremely straightforward, this can actually be rather complicated. As we’ve seen, self-awareness is really challenging. Many of us have trouble defining our own wants and requirements. Heck, It takes me 30 minutes to decide what to have for dinner. We often find ourselves in stressful and unfulfilling circumstances because we don’t have a clear knowledge of what we need in our relationships. 

Knowing what you need from others in general and at certain times in your life will be made easier with self-awareness. 

Imagine having a friend, lover, or family member who understood exactly what you wanted from them. Or maybe if you were able to identify and express what you require from these relationships when you’re suffering, lost, or feeling low.

Questions:

* What qualities do you look for most in a friend? 

* What characteristics are important in a love partner? 

* How often can you tell the people in your life what you need from them?

7. Know when and how to put your trust in yourself. 

We frequently consider the word “trust” in terms of other people, but we hardly ever consider how important it is when considering ourselves. You already know how difficult it is to be self-aware. It’s also challenging to believe that we are competent. In light of all of these factors, a large number of us lack confidence in our ability to make the best choices. 

The ability to trust oneself comes from knowing when to do so and then cultivating that trust. 

Your behaviour and thinking will be hampered by influences and emotions. Positivity might infiltrate. You’ll be able to spot when this is taking place if you establish daily self-awareness.

As a result, you can discover when you can trust yourself, and when it’s best to ignore the worries that are preventing you from moving forward. 

Questions: 

• What aspects of yourself can you most confidently rely on? 
• When do your feelings interfere with your ability to make decisions? 
• How can you increase your self-confidence?

Evolving these Self-Awareness Examples to Improve Yourself-Awareness 

By this time, perhaps, you have a clearer idea of what self-awareness in your daily life should entail. Additionally, you might be able to identify areas where you could improve your self-awareness. After all, finding purpose in life requires self-awareness. 

So how can you then cultivate these self-awareness abilities? 

Unfortunately, becoming self-aware cannot be achieved by just turning a switch. It necessitates effort, focus, and practise. The life-altering advantages of self-awareness, however, become increasingly apparent the more you pause and consider what you feel, want, and need. You can work to develop mindfulness practises as a family or as an individual.

Although self-awareness is frequently talked about, it can still be difficult to understand how it should manifest in your everyday life. The sooner you realise what examples of self-awareness there can be, the sooner you can implement them in your own life.