How self-aware are you?
I worked in leadership development for 11 years and one of the things that always came up was how important it is for leaders to be self-aware. To know themselves.
In truth, back then I only had a sliver of an understanding of what this could mean.
At that time, self-awareness to me meant knowing your strengths, your style of leading, your values, your triggers.
But after more than two years of coaching, I see self-awareness from a completely different place.
Today, self-awareness includes knowledge of your heart, mind, body, spirit.
🩷 Heart: what’s most important to you today; what dreams or goals do you have for yourself and your life; how connected are you to what makes you YOU; what is your unique expression, your unique contribution.
🧠 Mind: how do you speak to yourself, to others; what thoughts or beliefs (conscious and unconscious) are controlling or limiting how you show up; what are you putting your attention and focus on; what’s in your imagination.
🕴 Body: how do you feel (physically, emotionally); how do you navigate what you feel; what needs to be felt or expressed that has been pushed down for too long; what are your boundaries; what are your needs; what needs to be let go.
🧘♀️ Spirit: connection to the observer in you that sees what’s happening in your heart, mind, body. The part of you (your consciousness) that holds and sees the rest.
And I know there is much more to learn.
When I discovered the word “interoception” it helped me understand what it means to “look inside.” There is a whole inner landscape within each of us that, if we don’t pause and get curious about, will continue to operate on auto-pilot, giving us the same experience of life we’ve been having so far.
If you’re wanting a different experience of yourself – of your life – cultivating self-awareness is an essential step and coaching is a great tool to support this discovery (in my humble opinion).
When you know yourself better:
- decisions get easier
- you next step is clearer
- you choose what is actually best for you, instead of what “should” be best for you
- you have more compassion for yourself and others
- you can let things go more easily
- you can respond to what’s in front of you, instead of react and snap
- your confidence in yourself grows
- your trust in yourself grows
- you can be present in the moment without getting sucked into the past or future
Sounding good to you?
I offer pro bono coaching sessions to those new to my work on Fridays. It’s a 50 minute coaching session – no strings attached – so you can have an experience of it for yourself.
Book a call here. And please share with a friend who may find value.