One thing we usually don't think about when we go through our daily lives is how important it is to know who we are as individuals and also knowing our short comings. A lot of us don't have a clear image of ourselves and this greatly impacts our everyday lives. To me in life "If you don't know who you are, then you're not truly living". You're just going through each day taking whatever lives throws at you. We have to be self-aware and also have self-realization. Self-Awareness as defined by Psychologists Shelley Duval and Robert Wicklund is "the ability to focus on yourself and how your actions, thoughts, or emotions do or don't align with your internal standards".
Individuals who are self-aware know their strengths and weaknesses and work on maximizing their potential. They are able to correctly manage situations and know when to not let their emotions get the best of them. Self-aware individuals are aware of their weaknesses and short comings and use it as a guide to improve. We have to develop a deeper sense of self-awareness because it drives us to grow. We also have to be self-aware of our actions and the effect it has on others. There are numerous times when my actions or words have done more harm than good to individuals and seeing these mistakes and being aware of the impact they have had has helped me be more cultivated and apologize when I'm wrong. It has also helped me develop a better habit of making the right decisions when it comes to the effect it may have on others. I know I'm far from perfect and being self-aware helps us put our pride aside and do what is right. Some benefits of self-awareness are the improvement of friendships and relationships, internal happiness and it also helps us be open-minded to different perspectives.
Self-Realization on the other hand is when we know who we are as individuals and are happy with our self-image. It is when we don't care or pay attention to how others envision us. We define who we are and the image others may paint of us is never realistic. Self-Realization is important because individuals who are not, are usually People-Pleasers and find their sense of identity by how others perceive them. They are never one to accept and love who they are. Self-Realization go hand in hand with knowledge of self. A person who confidently knows their place in the world and never diminishes their values for others. "A person with knowledge of self knows that nothing can happen in his/her world without his/her permission".
Everything that happens in their world is under their control and will stop at nothing to make sure he/she has influence over it. Knowing who we are is critical in advancing in this world and becoming who we aim to be because we won't be easily swayed by the crowd and put pressure on ourselves to fit in. We will be much more comfortable living and doing things on our own terms. Some benefits of self-realization is having a sense of freedom to be who are and also seeking internal approval rather than outside. It also helps strengthen us mentally. These are both things we should aspire to achieve and place an emphasis on when going through over everyday lives. We can't be who we truly are without self-realization and self-awareness. What steps are you going to take to achieve them?
This post was inspired by a video by Youtuber Einzelganger and these two articles on Self-Awareness and Self-Realization. Feel free to check them out
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