The Benefits of Self-Awareness

Self-awareness is defined as a strong consciousness of one’s desires and emotions. It takes courage and understanding to become self-aware and celebrate who you are. Self-awareness not only works on a solo level for personal growth but also to strengthen your relationships.

Being present in the moment, understanding what you want and need, and being in tune with your body’s internal language are all crucial steps in reaching self-awareness. Throughout this article, we’ll look more closely at the reasons people are striving for self-awareness and how it can help you and your relationships.

Why Self-Awareness is Important

Being aware of who you are and what you feel has a very specific set of advantages. It promotes growth and is an opportunity to share a deeper meaning of “self” with those you love. Some believe the self-awareness could have a negative impact because not all internal components are positive ones. However, self-awareness isn’t asking individuals to overlook negative emotions but to embrace them and use them for further growth. Let’s examine some of the main benefits of self-awareness, such as:

Emotional Positivity

One of the main reasons to start increasing your self-awareness is the mood incentives it brings. A study in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology shows that being mindful and self-aware create “positive emotional states.”

Decreased Stress

The same study suggested that being in the moment and self-aware helped to reduce stress and mood inconsistencies.

Better Sleep

Being at peace with who we are and what we feel can do more than provide a sense of calm and happiness. It can also help you sleep, according to a study published by The American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementias. Patients involved in the study underwent an 8-week process where they learned skills to live in the moment non-judgmentally and appreciate current emotions.

Higher Quality of Life

The same study from The American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and other Dementias found that those patients who learned self-awareness skills reported an overall higher quality of life.

Measuring Mood Through Self-Awareness

You might think that understanding how you feel is as simple as checking your facial expression, but not every person wears their heart on their sleeves or emotions on their faces. There are so many emotions to feel; it can be difficult to pinpoint which you are currently experiencing and how it is affecting your everyday life. Using self-awareness practices, you can determine exactly what emotions are below the surface, including:

• Anxiety

• Love

• Depression

• Contempt

• Pride

• Shame

• Envy

To truly realize your emotional state, you must be willing to whole-heartedly, and without judgment, initiate mindfulness and approach self-awareness. Fortunately, you can use exercises to reach this state.

Getting Started on the Path to Self-Awareness

There are many exercises you can use to promote self-awareness. One of the most successful is a full body scan. This exercise takes no special equipment and can be completed by anyone. All you need is a quiet space and a clear head. As a meditation practice, body scanning requires you to concentrate. In this case, it requires you to concentrate on your body.

A study published in The Journal of Behavior Change found that people suffering from depression and anxiety saw a significant reduction in these emotions following mindful meditation.

Ready to try mindful meditation for yourself? Close your eyes and breathe in deeply. Now, focus all your attention on your breathing. Feel each breath come into your lungs, filling them, and exhaling out into the universe. Now focus on the top of your head. Picture your head in your mind’s eye, each strand of hair, the way the air feels on your forehead, and begin to move down your body, pinpointing each area. Experience similar thoughts about your face, neck, shoulders, arms, hands, torso, legs, and feet.

As you take notice of each part of your body, think about the way it feels, not just physically but emotionally. Are you harboring anger, sadness, or happiness inside somewhere? Once you’ve found each emotion being held in each body part, revel in them. Rather than trying to change what you feel, acknowledge it and hold onto that feeling.

Curious about how you can get started with body scanning? For more information on the importance of self-awareness and the art of becoming more in tune with your body, contact us for a free 30-minute consultation.