What is Self-Awareness? Your Guide to Knowing Yourself

Self-awareness is the skill of understanding who you are, what you stand for, and how you show up in the world. It’s not about being self-critical; it's about being honest and curious about yourself.

There are two equally important sides to self-awareness:

Internal Awareness: Looking inwards to clearly understand your own values, passions, thoughts, and emotional triggers.
External Awareness: Understanding how you are perceived by others and the impact your actions and words have on them.

When you develop both, you gain the clarity and confidence to make decisions that are truly right for you. You begin to live by your own internal standards, not someone else's, which is a cornerstone of good mental health and resilience.

The Benefits: What Self-Awareness Gives You

Practicing self-awareness isn't just an internal exercise—it unlocks practical benefits that can improve your relationships, decision-making, and overall wellbeing.

When you become more self-aware, you gain the ability to:

Respond, Not Just React: Step back from your emotions and choose how you want to act, rather than being controlled by initial reactions.
Build Stronger Relationships: Understand how your words and actions impact others, leading to more empathy and better communication.
Live with Intention: Make conscious choices that align with your personal values and goals, instead of just going through the motions.
Improve Your Focus: By understanding your own thought patterns, you can better manage distractions and stay present in the moment.

Key Terms

Intentionality helps you understand the importance and purpose of your goals, and directs your mind and actions to help you achieve it. An intentional focus gives you greater clarity around what you want and how to spend your time.

Being present means being focused on one thing, whether that be a task, a project or a conversation, without being easily distracted or lost in thought. Being able to give your full attention to a given situation will help you to be more present.

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage your own emotions. People with high levels of emotional intelligence can percept their own feelings, know what they mean, and are aware of how their emotions can affect other people.

Here's a quick video to break it down for you!

Why is self awareness important?

When you lack self-awareness, you stunt the growth of your emotional intelligence. You may find yourself blaming other people or not taking the time to understand other people's points of view. You may also feel anxious, frustrated, or unsure of yourself. Ultimately, self-awareness guides your thinking and actions, increasing your feelings of gratitude as you begin to understand yourself better.

Self Awareness Activities

Here are 10 activities to help improve your self-awareness. By following this advice to get to know yourself better, you can work to improve your mental and physical wellbeing.

Watch the following video

16 Personalities