The most important lesson that college has taught me hasn't come out of a book. It hasn’t come out of a lecture or class. It hasn’t come out of a professor or any other person on this planet. It came out of myself. The most important thing I have learned at the age of 21 is the availability to be self-aware. For the majority of our educational careers, we are taught to understand things. Understand the homework, the lecture, the book, etc. However, what about understanding yourself? Do you spend time reflecting? Do you spend time researching yourself? Do you know your strengths and weakness?
Most importantly, do you know who you are?
Seriously, have you ever asked yourself, Who Am I?
To me, self-awareness is a process, in which a person is exploring different ideas, beliefs and environments to better understand themselves. Furthermore, self-awareness allows you to understand what you are good at and what you aren’t so great at. If you don’t know what you are good at then how can you ever become great? Always remember that the number one enemy of the great is the good.
The reason self-awareness is so important is because you cannot understand someone else if you don’t understand yourself. The earlier you understand yourself for what you are and what you are not is when everything changes. For example, once you know who you are, you don’t have to waste your time on things that don't parallel with your energy. Time is the most valuable thing on this planet. Self-awareness allows you to save time and reflect on what’s most important to you. I contribute all my professional development to being self-aware. The moment I started studying myself is when I truly started growing. I was no longer wasting time on things that didn’t align themselves with my identity and my energy. I’m not saying that you should stop exploring different environments once you have a grasp of who you really are, but rather use it as a leverage to invest your time more efficiently. I’ve met some of my best friends and mentors by being in places that aligned themselves with what I represent. Self-awareness is like a life filter, once you become self-aware you start to filter out all the unnecessary distractions in your life, allowing you to focus on the things that matter most to you. This life filter will allow you to focus on your vision. Once you understand yourself, you stop aspiring to become something you might not be, and capitalize on your strengths. You stop trying to impress and compete with others. You start competing with yourself and focus on better yourself.
So, where’s the practicality aspect of this article? How can I become more self-aware? Here's the first step.
Start by asking yourself who you are. Create a sentence or two that reflect everything you represent. Don’t include your name, for that is simply a title bestowed to you when you were born. Don’t include your job or educational standing, for those just reflect your current status and not what you represent. Do not include a description of yourself, for that is an action form of what you represent but not what you are.
For example:
I am an individual who has witnessed his parents live unjustly for way too long. You understand that, you understand me.
Then see if your everyday actions reflect your understanding of who you are. If they don’t then you have to be honest with yourself and see what you have do to change that. If it does match, then capitalize on it. Go to events that reflect who you are; by doing so you will put yourself in a position to meet others similar to you and potential mentors.
