Self-awareness can be difficult to develop and maintain. It requires a lot of introspection and the ability to gain perspective on one’s own thoughts, feelings, and behaviors while also observing others.
This is not an easy task! However, it does come with many benefits. In this blog post, we will share 50 examples of self-awareness that you can apply in your life for better results today.
1. The ability to recognize your strengths and weaknesses.
2. The ability to take responsibility for your thoughts and feelings.
3. The courage to admit when you are wrong, even if it hurts.
4. The wisdom to know the difference between right and wrong (and the ability to act accordingly).
5. The humility and grace to apologize when you’ve made a mistake (and accept an apology from others).
6. Being non-judgmental of yourself and others.
7. Recognizing your own bias, stereotypes, prejudices
8. The ability to see your blind spots and what they say about your character traits
9. Having a sense of purpose or mission in life (and a strategy to achieve it).
10. Being able to define your values and align your behaviors accordingly (and knowing when you’ve strayed from them).
11. Knowing what makes you feel most alive & fulfilled, and doing more of that!
12. The courage to set boundaries with others (and the wisdom not do so excessively or inappropriately)
13. Knowing the difference between needs & wants, and distinguishing which is most important to you.
14. Being able to be truly present with someone else (without having your mind wander or worrying about what’s going on elsewhere).
15. The ability to see yourself as a whole person – not just one aspect of who you are!
16. The wisdom to know the right questions to ask yourself in any given situation so you can gain insight.
17. The capacity for deep empathy (and not taking advantage of that).
18. Being able to meet your own needs, both physical & emotional – without feeling guilty about it!
19. Knowing when you’re giving too much and being able to re-balance your life.
20. The wisdom to know when it’s time for self care and what you need in that moment (beyond
21. The ability to laugh at yourself (and not take everything too seriously) –
22. Not being afraid of silence and solitude, even when you’re with others
23. Finally the ability to see how everything fits together into an interconnected whole
24. Having great relationships with others
25. Being able to put things in perspective so you can see how unimportant certain things are vs seeing what’s truly important!
26. Finally being aware that you’re not always right – no matter what the ego tells you!
27. Not being afraid of death
28. Having the wisdom to know when life has nothing more to offer you (and not struggling against that reality)
29. Knowing that you can’t control everything and accepting that
30. The ability to just go with the flow and be flexible in life
31. The wisdom not to judge yourself based on what others think of you
32. Trusting your gut instincts even if it contradicts reason (and knowing when to listen to each)
33. Knowing that you are enough just the way you are!
34. The courage to be vulnerable & transparent with others, even when it’s scary or painful (and knowing the difference between sharing too much and being uncomfortable vs withholding information for no good reason).
35. Finally having a deep understanding of the impermanence of life and accepting that it’s all temporary
36. Not being afraid to take a stand for what you believe in
37. Finally knowing that whatever happens, things will be okay – even if it doesn’t always seem like it!
38. Having the humility and grace not to judge others when they make mistakes (and accepting your own)
39. Being able to maintain healthy boundaries with others (and knowing when you’re in an unhealthy relationship)
40. Finally having the wisdom to know that even though bad things happen, it’s not because God is punishing you or has abandoned you!
41. The humility to admit you don’t know it all
42. Finally having the courage to be yourself!
43. The wisdom not to take things personally
44. The courage to be wrong
45. Not believing your own press (or thinking you’re better than others)
46. Having the wisdom not to fix, control or judge other people
47. The humility to admit that there are things you don’t know and being able to learn from those around you
48. Finally not being afraid of your own greatness and power – but knowing how to use it responsibly!
49. Knowing when others are in need and having the courage to speak up for them (without taking advantage)
50. Having a healthy perspective on life, taking everything that happens with a grain of salt & seeing the bigger picture!
(If you need extra support and tools from a licensed therapist, I recommend MMS’s sponsor, BetterHelp, an online therapy platform that is both flexible and affordable. Get started today and take 10% off of your first month of therapy HERE )
Final Thoughts
There are so many ways to be self-aware and we hope you will explore all of them. We also hope that this list has been helpful in expanding your knowledge about what it means to be truly, deeply connected with yourself.