“Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate.” – Carl Jung
How often do you catch yourself stressed out because of something someone else has done? Or a situation that was caused by things out of your control? Maybe you snap at a coworker or a family member or rush to make a decision only to realize later that your stress was in control instead of you?
Understanding yourself, aka Self Awareness, can help you respond rather than react. When we can stop and decide how to respond instead of reacting in the heat of the moment, we can dramatically lower our stress. We lead ourselves better when we can are not reacting out of stress. And this gives us a much larger capacity to lead others better.
Self-awareness is a powerful tool to help us reduce the stressors we experience daily.
So what is self-awareness?
Self-awareness seems like a buzzword lately, but for good reason. If we never learn more about how we are wired and how we respond to different stressors, we will never be able to reduce our stress.
A simple definition of self-awareness is knowing our triggers, behavior patterns, strengths, and growth areas. If we have low self-awareness we may overcommit, worry about pleasing everyone, avoid certain conversations or situations, or become over-controlling.
Growing in our self-awareness can act as a mirror and help us catch our stress early so we can respond instead of react.
As we grow in our self-awareness we gain real life benefits that help us reduce our stress:
- Emotional clarity = less overwhelm
- Better boundaries = less energy leaks
- Aligned decision-making = less internal conflict
- Improved communication = less relational stress
- Healthier habits = lower chronic stress
How do we grow in our self-awareness?
- Understand and study your personality and your strengths – I personally have found the Enneagram and the 6 Types of Working Genius to be incredibly helpful and easy to incorporate into my daily life.
- Observing your thoughts and naming what feelings or emotions those thoughts are bringing up – check out my “Observe Your Thoughts” download for more on this.
- Track your stress patterns – Keep a “stress journal” to identify conflict & stress triggers. Knowing your Enneagram type and your Working Geniuses are powerful tools in helping you identify what triggers stress and conflict for you.
- Practice mindfulness and breathwork – this creates space between those thoughts and your response. Download my 7 Mindful Micro-Breaks for a Less Stressful Workday for easy and quick ways to incorporate mindfulness into your work day.
- Journal or reflect daily – thinking back on your day whether through thought or journaling builds your self-awareness. Check out my “Examine Your Day” download for journaling prompts to make this daily exercise easier.
Self-awareness isn’t just a personal development tool. It’s a stress management superpower. You can’t lead others well until you learn to lead yourself with clarity and compassion.
Ready to turn your self-awareness into real stress relief? Download my free 9 Types Enneagram Guide to start discovering what drives your reactions under stress. If you’re feeling unsure about your type or want a deeper dive, book an Enneagram Typing Session with me — together, we’ll uncover your Enneagram type and what it means for your well-being.