Why Awareness is so Important
Living (or existing) without self awareness is akin to gambling. It is like going all in on a poker hand when you have not even looked at your cards. Living this way can make life seem chaotic. Self-Awareness is important because it gives us the power to more accurately determine what we are able to achieve, based on how and where we are at any given time. We make better choices because we know ourselves better. Our choices are better ones, and so self awareness boosts confidence in our own abilities. These are the fundamental building blocks of motivation.
Awareness and Motivation
We are all inspired. Some are inspired to do something, or buy something so that they can compete with others. Some take on huge challenges to fill the void. But those who first get to know themselves before looking for inspiration are at an advantage. Awareness of self when working towards a goal offers clear benefits. We know that we want what it is that we are working towards. We know that whatever else happens that is beyond our control, we won’t quit because of self-doubt. We won’t give up because we get half way through and come to realize that we don’t want to achieve the goal. We will keep going until we have achieved what we set out to achieve.
Self-Awareness and Self-Doubt
Everybody has them. Negative thoughts can appear from nowhere. They can certainly take a lot longer to pass than they do to appear. Whether it is for self-motivation to complete a task, or for inner-peace, it is virtually impossible to give our best if we entertain negative thoughts. What defines us depends entirely upon how well we bat those negative thoughts away. Being aware and using mindfulness brings us back into the present moment, where the negative thoughts are deprived of the fuel they need.
Self-Awareness and The Watcher
When practicing any sort of self-development, we will encounter obstacles. Perhaps days when we are not at our best. Being able to observe our thoughts, and how those thoughts determine our moods, and how those moods restrict our performance is a powerful tool to have to call upon. This ability to watch our own thoughts and actions is referred to as being the observer, or the watcher. Learning to self-critique in this way allows us to understand ourselves better, and from there we can give a much better account of ourselves. Guru Eckhart Tolle describes this ability to self observe as employing the powers of ‘the silent watcher.’
“Be the silent watcher of your thoughts and behavior. You are beneath the thinker. You are the stillness beneath the mental noise. You are the love and joy beneath the pain.”
Analogy for Awareness
To help us better understand how awareness can help us, think of it as being like the GPS system in a car navigation system. The screen on the dashboard, the maps it displays and the address we enter as our destination, are all of little use unless we first pinpoint where we are. Practicing self-awareness techniques such as mindfulness helps us to ping the satellites and determine where we are in our physical and emotional world. Once we have our true starting position, we are much better equipped to set out to achieve our destinations and goals.