How Self-Awareness Makes Every Habit Easier
By Christine Carter
When I wear a continuous glucose monitor (CGM), which gives me clear data on how my body responds to sleep, stress, and food, I behave differently than when I’m not wearing one.
It’s not that I don’t know that a blackberry cream scone is going to shoot my blood sugar out of range; I do. If I am wearing a CGM, however, I know I won’t be able to avoid the alarm signaling that my blood sugar is too high, and, therefore, I won’t be able to avoid the truth. Read ahead to learn how self-awareness makes habits simpler
What Self-Awareness is Not
Self-awareness requires more than navel-gazing. Self-awareness is the capacity to nonjudgmentally observe ourselves: what we’re doing, feeling, and thinking. Rumination is a loop of distress; self-awareness asks, “What is happening for me right now?” Reflective, curious, nonjudgmental self-examination predicts personal growth, while rumination and self-consciousness actively undermine it.
Why Self-Awareness is a Superpower
When we want to get into a new habit, most of us approach it as a willpower problem, willing ourselves to change through sheer force. Read ahead to discover why a more effective path starts with self-awareness.
It Can Help You Catch Triggers
It can be easy to be on autopilot. Self-monitoring (a direct application of self-awareness) can bring automatic behaviors into conscious view. You can’t interrupt a pattern you can’t see, and so a critical first step in changing unwanted behavior is recognizing what sets it off.
As you notice patterns in your thoughts and emotions, you’ll better understand when and why you do certain things, according to research published in the Journal of Behavior Therapy and Mental Health. Understanding that you reach for unhealthy snacks when you’re bored versus when you’re anxious opens the door to different solutions. Similarly, understanding that you are more likely to exercise when you do it with a friend can help you follow through more often.
It Motivates You
Heightened self-awareness leads people to be more conscious of the gap between where they are and where they want to be, according to research published in the European Journal of Personality. It also allows them to become more motivated to close that gap.
How to Be More Self-Aware
Explore simple ways to look inward and become more self-aware to create positive change.
Measure Behaviors and Outcomes
Simply tracking what you’re doing can be an effective tool. Self-monitoring can help people become more aware of their habits and make changes to their behavior.
Practice Self-Compassion
According to research from BetterUp, people high in self-compassion show 26 percent lower stress, 33 percent more resilience, and 24 percent lower burnout. Self-compassion lowers the psychological threat of looking honestly at yourself.
When we approach our struggles, failures, and blind spots with kindness rather than judgment, we no longer need to protect ourselves from our own criticism or embarrassment; a willingness to look without flinching makes hard truths bearable enough to learn from.
Ask Yourself “What” Questions, Not “Why” Questions
When we want to understand ourselves better, the instinct is to ask why: “Why did I do that?” “Why do I feel this way?”
“Why” questions tend to produce stories and justifications rather than genuine insight, and often send us straight into rumination. “What” questions work differently. Instead of “Why am I so stressed?” try “What situations are making me feel stressed, and what do they have in common?” Instead of “Why can’t I stick to this habit?” try “What is getting in the way, and what would make it easier?” “What” keeps us curious, specific, and forward-facing — which is the posture self-awareness requires.
Talk to a Coach or a Trusted Friend
The path to self-knowledge is often interpersonal, according to research published in the journal Frontiers in Psychology. Feedback from people who know us well and have our best interests at heart can reveal aspects of ourselves that introspection alone cannot. We all have blind spots, and no amount of looking inward will show us what we can’t see. Seeking honest observations from others is a reliable way to close the gap between how we see ourselves and how we actually are. It can be as simple as asking a friend or a spouse after a hard week: “What do you notice about me right now that I might not be seeing?”
Try Meditation
Even a few minutes of sitting quietly, noticing what you’re thinking and feeling without trying to change or suppress it, trains the helpful kind of inward attention needed to truly “know thyself.”
Self-awareness is a skill that improves with practice. We just need to be curious and nonjudgmental about what we’re doing, feeling, and thinking in any given moment.
In a world that rewards busyness and performance, turning inward can feel indulgent or even risky. But self-awareness isn’t a detour from your best life; it’s the fastest route to it.
This article originally appeared on Greater Good, the online magazine of the Greater Good Science Center at UC Berkeley. Click here to read the original article.
