3 things to try to increase your self-awareness

I was volunteering at an event last year and one of my fellow-vollies had a distinct lack of self-awareness. She was one of those people who would answer a question asked of someone else, constantly interrupted people who were talking, and publicly and loudly corrected others when they made a mistake.

She was one of those people who answered questions asked of someone else, constantly interrupted people who were talking, and publicly and loudly corrected others when they made a mistake.

She said and did a few other things over the course of event that made me realise while she thought she was the bees-knees, her self-awareness was really very low.

Sadly, this is quite common.

Most of us think we have a high level of self-awareness, but the reality is that most of us do not.

When we are self-aware we see ourselves clearly and objectively. However, and perhaps more importantly, when we are self-aware we are conscious of how others perceive us.

It is when others perceive us the way we want to be seen that we are more likely to get that promotion, achieve our goals and positively influence others. And be great to work with!

If you want to increase your self-awareness, there are a three things you can try:

• Ask people how they see you – a good question could be what are three words you would use to describe me? If you do this anonymously using a survey tool, you’re more likely to get honest responses than if you ask your friends on Facebook.

• When something makes you uncomfortable, sit with that discomfort for a few minutes. Ask yourself why do you feel the way you do? What is it about this situation that makes you uncomfy?

• Create space and time for regular self-reflection. Take the time to slow down, shift your mindset, process and challenge your thoughts and feelings, and become more positive.

On a scale of one to ten with ten being the highest, how self-aware do you think you are?