In this fast-paced world, the success parameters have exceeded academic success and professional expertise. In every realm of life, self-awareness and self-management are becoming excruciatingly important. Since life is all about highs and lows, ecstasy and blues, as a person, you need to identify yourself and know your strengths, weaknesses, desires, and feelings while being able to manage and channel them to your advantage at the right time.
In this writing, we will explore how self-awareness and self-management are important aspects of one’s professional and personal life.
Understanding Self-awareness
Awareness of the self, or simply self-awareness, is a broad concept that goes on knowing oneself, exploring our inner capabilities, shortcomings, and how we feel and desire. It further explores the reason or logic behind our emotions and strengths and allows us to know ourselves better. It leads us to dive deep into our inner feelings and be aware of what we truly want.
When self-aware, we have clarity on our thoughts, goals, and desires. If, for example, you have stage fright and are not so good at public speaking or communicating well enough, you know it inside of you even if you don’t show it. We are our best judge, and instead of ignoring such feelings, we should embrace them and challenge ourselves to change them.
Self-awareness further has another aspect of spirituality. God has created us for underlying reasons that we aren’t aware of. Self-awareness helps us explore that arena by exploring our reason for existing here. Why were we sent to this earth, and how was it incomplete without us before we weren’t here? The gradual process of self-awareness can help us answer these thoughts and can go on to make us more spiritual and practicing.
Interpreting the art of Managing oneself
While self-awareness is the core of emotional intelligence, self-management is where all the thoughts become tangible through action. Self-management is a further step toward self-awareness, where you tend to master your emotions, perform where needed, and recover well and quickly from setbacks. While you’re now aware of your strengths, you work primarily on them to succeed while simultaneously embracing one’s shortcomings and correcting them. It goes on to being disciplined, organized, and flexible to different situations and circumstances.
Self-management allows us to prosper in professional and personal situations. By taking control of ourselves in difficult circumstances, we become the architect of our destiny and fate.
The Correlation
There is a deep correlation between self-awareness and self-management. A sound self-awareness paves the way for effective self-management. Both of these elements of Emotional Intelligence go hand in hand. This dynamic duo not only fosters self-improvement but also assists in better work ethics, relationships, and contributions in any aspect of life.
For instance, you realize that you’re good at writing. Once you’ve analyzed your strength, you will try to leverage it by taking up more tasks related to writing so that you flourish in the field of writing. Here, realizing your strength as a sound writer is self-awareness, trying to leverage your talent, and embracing difficulties along the way while accepting your flaws and recovering from setbacks and criticism is self-management.
On the contrary, it is not this easy that you can come up with these sorts of judgments and take action. For this to work effectively in your case, you need to cultivate some habits in your routine to have sound control over self-awareness and self-management.
Techniques to develop self-awareness and self-management
1. Journaling
Writing about your thoughts, plans, and ideas on a piece of paper can provide clarity on any situation you want. It helps you take control over your thoughts, challenge them, and critically think about them while you write them out. Journaling can provide you with tangible results and allows you to be more self-aware about your feelings, emotions, opinions, and the roots behind them.
2. Goal Setting
Goal setting provides insights into self-awareness and self management. From setting aims and targets to achieving them, it is a complete journey of these skills. For instance, if you want to become a professional soccer or football player, you might have seen some skills, passion, and/or talent in you to pursue it. To achieve this long-term goal, you’d divide it into small daily tasks, such as discipline in your practice routines, etc. It also builds resilience in you, like getting over the matches you lost or poor performances. Goal setting is a pivotal way of incorporating self-awareness and self-management in your life.
3. Mindfulness practices
Mindfulness practices such as meditation and gratitude help you take control of your thoughts and emotions. It helps you to know your inner self as well as manage them keenly and effectively in crucial situations. Meditation allows you to address all of your unanswered queries in your head, which helps you get more clarity and control over yourself.
4. Having control over your emotions
This sounds easier said than done, but controlling your emotions in times of crisis is the need of the hour at your work or relationships. Being carried away by emotions is a common mistake every individual tends to make (not deliberately obviously) that worsens the situation.
Controlling your emotions, such as your anger during arguments or blues at times of financial losses, helps you deal with the situation better, leading to better self-management and posing yourself as an example for the rest to follow.
In conclusion, both of these skills are crucial elements for success and personal growth in human life today. One must master these both to conquer the negativity in ourselves and flourish in our domains.