If you were asked in an interview what your greatest strength is, how likely are you to say self-awareness? It probably wouldn’t be the first thing to cross your mind, even if you consider yourself to be a self-aware person. The thing is that most people don’t realize how truly valuable it is to possess such a trait. Self-awareness is totally underrated.
If you have the conscious knowledge of your own character, feelings, motives, and desires, you’re basically an unstoppable force, my friend. Self-awareness may just be the most powerful weapon you can have in life, but so many people brush it aside or don’t realize how incredible of a gift it is.
Why is self-awareness so powerful?
Because it helps you set and achieve your goals, make sound decisions, improve your people skills and relationships, and cultivate a sense of inner peace. Self-awareness can help you get anywhere you want in life as long as you know how to use it to your advantage.
I would bet that the majority of my blog readers are self-aware individuals (shout out to the self-aware fam), and I think it’s important that we take a moment to recognize all of the reasons why embracing our self-awareness is totally and 100% necessary.
10 Reasons Why Self-Awareness Is Your Greatest Asset
1. You know your strengths and weaknesses.
You know what you’re good at, so you play up those strengths and develop them even further. You accept your shortcomings and take the time to learn from them rather than dwelling on them. You’re realistic in the way you approach your goals and the steps you need to take to reach them.
2. You’re conscious of your emotions and how you react to them.
Being completely aware of what you’re feeling at any given time is mad important. You understand why you’re feeling a certain way, you accept it, and you decide how you want to react to that feeling. You know it’s your decision to let it overwhelm you, embrace it as a lesson, or to just let it go.
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3. You know what motivates you.
You know that searching around for inspiration probably won’t get you up and at ’em. You realized long ago that it’s up to you to make the decision to start, and that it’s up to you to motivate yourself. Sure, it helps to get a little pep talk from the big guys (for me, it’s Casey Neistat), but ultimately you’re the only one who can get yourself in the right mindset.
4. You’re aware of how you come across to others.
Have you ever met someone who was just so blissfully unaware of how their actions and attitude affect others? It’s frustrating to say the least. As a self-aware individual, you pay attention to how others react to you and you can adjust your behavior to be appropriate to any situation. You’re flexible and adaptable, but that doesn’t mean you’re a pushover.
5. You know what your values are.
You know what you will and won’t tolerate. You set boundaries for yourself and won’t let yourself or anyone else cross the line. You won’t settle for anything less than the best. You’re a regular Ron Swanson.
6. You trust your intuition.
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.” – Albert Einstein
If you listen to Jess Lively’s podcast, you know how important trusting your intuition is. Your intuition is that gut feeling that tells you when you are on the right track and when you’re not. Has your gut feeling ever really been wrong? Think about it. When your self-awareness game is strong, you know it’s your best bet to trust what your intuition is telling you about decisions, situations, and people.
7. You notice when you have unkind thoughts.
Whether you’re being unkind to yourself or others, you recognize this and make an effort to change the way you think. You may not be positive all the time (let’s face it, who is?), but you sure know how to get yourself into a positive mindset.
8. You understand that your perspective frames your beliefs.
You recognize that your beliefs, values, thoughts, and actions are there because of your life experiences and what you’ve allowed to influence you. You understand that this is the same for everyone else, and therefore you understand that there is more than one way to see or do something. You are accepting and respectful of those with differing opinions, and you know that what works for you might not work for others and vice versa.
9. You know what you need to change.
“You have to audit who you actually are because then you’re not going to bullshit yourself.” – Gary Vaynerchuk
If things don’t seem to be going the way you might have hoped, you know it’s up to you to change something. Whether it’s the direction you’re headed or just the method you’re using to get there, you take inventory of what’s been working and what hasn’t – and then you try something new. You also notice when you’re being completely unproductive, so you do something about it.
10. You’re mindful of your actions.
You act with purpose because you know your strengths, you stick to your values, and you trust your intuition. Basically, you use all of the traits mentioned in this post to help guide you in whatever you do. You’re a baller and a shot caller. Boom.
Do you think self-awareness is your greatest asset? Let us know in the comments!
26 Responses
Love it! And so so true! Self-awareness is such an incredibly powerful routine to establish. While I would say that I have a somewhat high self-awareness, I know that there is still a lot more room to improve. Progress, not perfection, right? :) Thank you so much for this greta post!
xx Ronja
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{ CREATE THE LIFE YOU LOVE }
Progress not perfection! Such an important quote that I always try to live by :) Thanks, love!
This is spot on! I think self awareness is the key to quality of life. This is awesome (and so are you x)
You are the best haha! Thanks, Jennifer.
Being meta is one of my favourite pastimes. It also leads to a few existential crises, but for the most part, I like that it helps with living a conscious life (: -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
Ha! You are so right that it can lead to existential crises, but those just help us grow even more (that’s my positive spin on it)! Thanks for commenting, Audrey <3
Great post! Just stumbled upon your blog and your post about self-awareness caught my eye. IMO, it’s one of the not so obvious traits people talk about in terms of becoming successful. Most people focus on hard work, being smart, and not giving up, which are all true, of course. But I can’t help but feel that again and again, self-awareness had helped me a great deal in getting through like post-college, especially in the workplace and particularly in interviews where I can intuitively feel how the interviewer is feeling about me. Because most of the time when you don’t get the job and ask them for feedback, they are not entitled to tell you the truth (it’s an HR thing as well), but if you can sense that their expressions or attitude changed during the interview, you can pinpoint where you failed and not make the same mistake again in your next interview.
Self-awareness has also helped me in social situations where I’m able to see the bigger picture and outwit others.
However, being super aware also has it’s pitfall sometimes. You see too much and more than you would really like to the point that it can get to the pessimistic side of things, which I try to stay out of. When you are more aware of yourself, it also helps you intuitively grasps other people’s actions and thought process where you can easily see their flaws instead of their greatness. This isn’t helpful when you are trying to build trust and rapport with new friends and trying to see the best in them though.
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Hey, Pearl! You brought up some really great points here. I remember being interviewed for a job and they asked me ‘What problems did you have with your past employer?’ and I answered the question honestly, but could tell by their faces that I should have said only positive things because they were looking for someone who was loyal. Guess that wasn’t me!
I totally agree that it has it’s downfalls. Sometimes self-awareness can turn into self-consciousness, and it’s a fine line that’s all too easy to cross. And I see people’s flaws immediately, but I have to remember that they are only flaws because I see them that way and sometimes it takes a bit of compromise to realize that I’m being too harsh.
Oh I love this post Catherine. Self-awareness is something that doesn’t really come up when people talk about happiness and success, but I truly believe that is’s so powerful. I particularly love your point #8 which is something I’ve never really thought about before when it comes to self-awareness, and I love that our own self-awareness (and the understanding that comes with that) can help us to be more kind, understanding and empathic to other people.
Hi, Chloe! I think #8 is one of my favorite points because it is something people take for granted or can easily overlook. There are so many people out there who think that they’re opinion is the only correct one, but I always try to see as many sides of the story as I can.
Lovely post, Catherine! It always, always, always comes back to awareness, doesn’t it?! SUCH a catalyst for transformation.
Totally, Allie! It can drive everything you do xo
What a great post!! I finally know what to answer when I get asked “what is your strength” at job interviews! :)
Yess, Berta! It’s a unique answer that most interviewers probably don’t hear. And hopefully this post can help you can explain why it’s a strength too!
I really enjoyed this post. I totally agree with all your benefits of being self aware! I have actually found since beginning to blog, and really just writing in general, really makes me a more self aware person! It’s great :)
Thanks for sharing!
That’s awesome, Kendra! I think when you start to write about your own experiences, it can bring out some of the things you might not have been aware of before.
Brilliant post, self-awareness allows me to live intentionally… and what a gift it is! :)
This is sooo true! Love that you wrote a post about this, it’s such an important and amazing topic. ❤️
Love this! People so often misjudge how much being self aware does for you, that and they don’t know how to become more self aware, I think you should write a blog on that topic as well. I found this article that gives some key tips on how to become more self aware https://www.seedsofsatya.com/musings-1/2019/3/11/how-to-become-more-self-aware.
On point, if I could give one gift to anyone it would be the gift of self awareness. It helps improve all aspects of our lives from motivation to relationships and our self concept.
This was really enjoyable to read. I realized I am much more self-aware then I realized. Thank you for that useful insight.
Loved this! Thanks so much for sharing.
Thanks, Stefanie!
Thank you Catherine for the great post! It helps a lot to give a clear mind on this ending year. It is quite interesting to analyze moments and situations where better self-awareness could play a different outcome. I guess for 2022, knowing where I am lacking gives room for improvement and growth for better relations.
Catherine, you have shared such a knowledgeable point about self-awareness. I think self-awareness is that key that helps to remove self-doubt.
Thanks for your kind words, Sara!