Nothing changes without self-awareness

Sheryl is spot on - we can’t change what we are not aware of.

First we must notice – notice our responses, notice our behaviour, notice our impact….

This is easier to say than to do because it requires being aware of our thoughts, emotions and behaviour in the moment – and also having some curiousity them.

Such is the autopilot of human nature that often times we don’t recognise our responses or behaviour until after fact.

But that’s OK – this time-delayed noticing can be one of the first steps in building self-awareness.

Once we have some awareness about our inner processes and behaviour we have some choices.

I guess this is where my perspective differs a little from Sheryl’s. We can be aware of our inner state and the effect we are having on others but I’m not sure that “we cannot help but change”.

For example we may become aware of how we react to something or somebody and decide for whatever reason that actually we don’t want to do anything about it (I’m alright Jack, it’s everyone else that’s the problem!)

Of course if that is the decision there is a cost to it – which is that the door is closed to the potential for personal growth.

Because cultivating self-awareness and being open to acting on what we discover is the path that we must travel if we are to evolve – it’s the start of everything.

Self-awareness is also the starting point to developing emotional intelligence - the ability to understand ourselves, recognise our emotions and the impact of both of those not just on us, but on those around us.

There are many layers- many elements that feed into developing self awareness:

·  It is about understanding our strengths, talents, what matters to us (our values) as well as our natural preferences

·  It’s about understanding what our limitations are (and how we might limiting ourselves) and shining a light on our blind spots

·  It’s about understanding the impact that our behaviour has on others and developing the capacity to adapt our behaviour to have healthy relationships with others.

And much more…

So sadly Sheryl I don’t believe “we cannot help but change” because whilst awareness is the first step it doesn’t necessarily lead to action.

Sometimes we need some support in making change; support to help us make sense of what we are noticing and deciding the things we want to cultivate and those we want to let go of; we need someone/something to hold us to account for what we are going to do.

So I offer you an alternative quote from Eckhart Tolle which for me speaks to the positive possibilities associated with self awareness “Awareness is the greatest agent for change”.

 #selfawareness #selfdevelopment #professionaldevelopment #growth #growthmindset #leadershipcoaching #leadershipdevelopment

An invitation…

Are you ready to step through the door towards self awareness and self assurance?

Developed as a result of insights from thousands of coaching hours the Boldly-Go Self-Assured Leader Coaching program is designed for people taking their next step on the leadership ladder.

Join me on the path to growing your self awareness and self mastery, release your potential and lead with self-assurance.

Feel free to drop me a line to find out more sarah@boldly-go.co.uk