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Posted 10/05/2021 in Christian Mental Health Tips

6 Ways to Improve Self-Awareness


6 Ways to Improve Self-Awareness

6 Ways to Improve Self-Awareness

Psychologist Carl Jung rightly stated “Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.” Acquiring the ability to become more self-awareBuild self awarenes Facebook Post is an important first step toward living the life that God is calling you to live.    

Self-awareness entails internally reflecting on, comprehending, and assessing your inner responses as well as your external behaviors. When you are self-aware, you are aware of your own personality, including your own strengths and shortcomings, your thoughts and beliefs, your emotions, as well as your own motives and emotions and motivations.

In order to help you become more self-aware, we offer the below simple and practical ways you can perform on a daily basis to become more self aware.

Related Article: A Christian Guide to How to be More Honest with Yourself 

6 Simple Ways to Increase Self-awareness

1. Reflecting - One of the best ways to increase self-awareness is to reflect. Think about who you are and how far you've come. Take some time alone and ask yourself, how you're doing. Being quiet and alone is often the best way to connect the dots of your past and understand the links to the present.

 

2. Journaling - Journaling is another amazing way to increase your self-awareness. The truth is, nobody understands how effective it is until they start to journal. Not only does it give you clarity but it also helps you track your feelings and behaviors. This single step can help you figure out the direction you should go in as well as what you might be doing wrong. 


A lot of people struggle with what to journal about. Which is why journaling prompts are the perfect way to start journaling or continue your self-awareness journey. You can check out our list of over 400 journaling prompts. We also have a collection of blanked journal on amazon.  

Jesus Is Not Just A Sunday Thing Blank JournalJesus Is Not Just A Sunday Thing Blank JournalJesus Is Not Just A Sunday Thing Blank JournalLet God Composition Notebook & JournalLet God Composition Notebook & JournalLet God Composition Notebook & JournalA.S.A.P. - Always Say A Prayer JournalA.S.A.P. - Always Say A Prayer JournalA.S.A.P. - Always Say A Prayer JournalDo Not Despise These Small Beginnings JournalDo Not Despise These Small Beginnings JournalDo Not Despise These Small Beginnings Journal

3. Meditation - Meditation helps you see yourself more clearly. It's time alone with God, shut off from the noise of the world. This is exactly what you need to become self-aware. Time to get to know you. Time to get to know God’s plan and purpose for your life. Time away from what everyone else thinks of you, so you can focus on what you think of you.


4. Seek feedback from others - This is one of the most underrated ways of increasing self-awareness. It's understandable too, as most people choose not to seek feedback because it gives way to the lies of the enemy. However, if you choose to seek feedback from people you trust, it can actually be very fruitful. If God has placed trustworthy people in your life, allow them in, ask them for feedback. Because the truth is until we become self-aware, there are people in our lives that might know us even better than we know ourselves, and this can be helpful.

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5.  Read books or listen to podcast - Another way to increase your self-awareness and have an honest conversation with yourself is by reading books or listening to podcasts on personal development. Books have been described as “power banks: that revitalize the human mind. They are often written by mental health professionals or eminent authors who are experts at understand humans and their inner world. Right now I am loving the Road Back to You. But I have read many great books that have helped me understand myself better over the years. You can check out my picks below. 


6.  Engage in individual therapy - Therapy allows you to gain self-awareness through the objective input of an objective trained professional.  Seeking objective feedback from a therapist is important because research is constantly revealing to us how we are often inaccurate in assessing our own abilities and motives.  For example, we are all subject to make different types of bias errors.  Like the tendency to think of others people’s behaviors as traits (i.e., (“Oh, Sarah, she’s really shy”). On the other hand, when we think of ourselves, we are more likely to take the situation into account—we tend to say, “Well, I’m shy in my team at work, but with my close friends I’m not at all shy. You can read more about different biases here: https://opentextbc.ca/socialpsychology/chapter/biases-in-attribution/

 

A therapist can help you see these biases in your life, understand your unconscious motivates and how your early childhood may be impacting your functioning. Your can find a Christian therapist near you here: https://www.therapyforchristians.com/proviersnearme


Remember, self-awareness is important because if we don’t know what we feel, we won’t know what we need. Like the lights on the dashboard of a car, our emotions tell us when it’s time to pay attention to the engine. If we aren’t paying attention to the dashboard, we aren’t going to know what in our souls needs attention. 

 

Like a big X on a map indicating your location, your awareness tells you, “You are here.”

 

If you feel overwhelmed, do it one step at a time. Slow progress is still progress. Soon enough, you’ll become more aware of your growth and know that all is well. In order to help you track your progress, we have developed a journaling page that you can download here: Self-Awareness Journal PDF

Ad for It Is It Is WellIf you would like to do a deep dive into being more self-aware, pre-order a copy of It Is Well: A Christian Guided Journal.  It is Well is scheduled to be released in November 2021.  It it Well offers more than 40 guided activities to help you be more self-aware and honest with yourself.  


About the Author: 

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Corine Williams, Ph.D. is Clinical Psychologist that is currently seeing clients in the States of Maryland, New Jersey, and New York. You can find out more about her practice by visiting www.therapyforchristians.com/corinewilliams.  In addition to providing individual therapy, Dr. Williams is also passionate about writing books and designing merchandise that educate, uplift, and normalize mental health subject in the Christian community. You can find out more about her at  www.booksbycorine.com or by visiting her amazon profile here: https://www.amazon.com/Corine-Hyman/e/B00AWZ5FL2


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Disclaimer: the information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this article are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. If you are looking for a Christian counselor near you, please check out our directory located here:  Christians Therapist Near Me




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