What is the key to knowing
and mastering yourself – the key that leads to true strength and power?
To unleashing your true potential? Self awareness.
Everyone agrees they affect
their circumstances. What they don’t know is how they affect their circumstances. Through
self-awareness, you understand how
what you think, feel and do affects your circumstances, and what you can do to
make a positive difference.
Here's a question. What kind of a driver are you? Are you a courteous driver who most often allows others the room and leeway they need to get around on the road, or, like me, do you often find yourself speeding and switching lanes to get around "slower" drivers? How does this affect you, the others in the car with you, and your driving experience in general? How does it affect the other people on the road?
This has been an example of a lack of self awareness on my part. You might think, well that's not such a big deal, but if you've ever been driving in front of another driver who is obviously in a hurry and isn't concerned with your safety, it seems like a big deal indeed. Does that mean I am a "bad" person, or that others who do this are "bad" people? Of course not. It means that, in that area, there is a lack of self awareness.
When you move from that lack of awareness to being aware, you create new possibilities. You unleash
your creativity. New ideas emerge, leading to new results and a new level of
potential.
In this driving example, now that I am aware, I can make different choices that can provide a much better experience for me, my passengers, and the other people on the road, and I feel better. I might even find different routes so that I don't have to rush, or decide to take my time because, well, life is just so much more pleasant that way.
How do you become self aware? This can happen in any number of ways, as we all know. Sometimes life steps in and gives us a wake-up call in the form of some dramatic event. Sometimes our friends or family make comments. Sometimes there is a moment of awareness -- an ah ha moment -- and we just know. It is a gift from the divine. I find these usually go in stages. First, we get a little nudge. If we don't make a change, we get a stronger nudge. This progresses until at some point a much larger event might happen to get our attention.
Because, it really is all in where we put our attention. We all have a lot of mental noise going on in our heads, and some of it usually shows up in the form of opinions and justifications. In this example, I might be thinking I have every right to speed because, well, how much does that matter anyway (justification)? The fact that it is against the law doesn't even make a dent. If someone were to mention something to me, I might have an opinion that it's not that big a deal, let it go, and continue with what I'm doing. What message does that send to that person? Is that a message of respect? You can see what kind of outcome that could create.
Whether it's about driving or something else, when that happens, we are not paying attention. We are on autopilot. We are allowing our mental noise to run the show. This is the time to get present and make the choice to pay attention.
I have a three-step process I use to do this: Stop, Breathe and Focus. Stopping and putting our focus on our breath gets us off autopilot and into the present moment. Focusing on what outcome we would like to create puts us into the responsive mode, not the reactive one. From there, we can choose to become the observer and watch ourselves in action. I can decide, without judging myself, whether I want to change my behavior or not. From this vantage point, I'm more likely to make a conscious, informed decision than a reactive one based on justifications or opinions.
Perhaps driving is not your issue. Perhaps you have challenges in relationships or finances, or something else. Whatever it is, becoming self aware will change your life because you -- the real you -- takes charge. You no longer feel like you are a victim in life.
Through self awareness, you engage your power to create what you wish in your life. You make choices from your authentic self. You unleash your creative mind. You engage your true potential and life becomes happier and more peaceful.
True Potential Tip
Wake up! Make the choice to become self aware. Listen and look at what life is showing you by way of your experiences and your relationships. Stop, breathe and focus. You'll thank yourself. :-).
This amazing rainbow appeared as I looked out from my front yard. The biggest I'd ever seen, I couldn't capture the whole thing in one shot.
Andrea Beaulieu Creates, LLC copyright 2010
Interesting to read your thoughts on driving and people's self awareness and how much or little they may consider their driving habits to affect other people.
In the domestic violence offender group's I've been observing we had a very interesting discussion about just that very thing a few weeks ago.
I told them the story of how I was in a rollover accident that totaled my car because some selfish guy in a full-size truck just HAD to come barreling right down the center of a dirt road headed straight into me.
He never even stopped to look at what he caused.
(I actually blogged about it in July '08).
Whether it's driving or something else. We have got to consider the consequences of our actions for other people.
Stephanie Angelo
www.hressential.com
Posted by: Stephanie Angelo | January 24, 2010 at 02:20 PM
Im sorry that happened to you, Stephanie. And youre absolutely right paying attention. Thanks so much for your comment.
Posted by: Andrea Beaulieu | January 25, 2010 at 01:21 PM