Do you think you know yourself? Do you know how self-knowledge benefits you? Discover how introspection helps us know what we want in life to try to achieve it.
Most researchers point out that being self-aware helps you enjoy an emotionally fulfilling life. But not everyone is able to look in the mirror and ask themselves who they really are. On many occasions we think that we may even think that we do not need to develop our self-knowledge , but the reality is that you may need it more than you think. There are many nuances within us that we must be aware of in order to learn.
Self-knowledge implies being aware of all the aspects that concern ourselves. From our traits, to the behavior and feelings we feel the most. Know yourself It involves seeing all the details around us.
How is it obvious personal self-knowledge It is essential to know who you are. Although we are not constantly thinking about our own perceptions, the reality is that our own knowledge influences every aspect of our daily lives.
Self-knowledge test
The truth is that you will not always know how to delve into yourself in the right way. Psychologist Tasha Eurich has pointed out that paying attention to our emotions and thoughts is not always good. The study she carried out allowed her to know that the introspection that everything entails self-knowledge It does not always lead to happiness, but on many occasions people who reflected on themselves suffered from unhappiness, stress and depression. The reason is that it is not always done correctly, and those whys cause us more discomfort, when they should lead to our well-being.
Benefits of personal self-awareness
He self-knowledge Not only is it essential to have a good relationship with yourself, but it can also be vital to enjoying a life full of well-being both psychologically and physically. In addition to this, knowing yourself also provides all these benefits:
Be more proactive: When develop self-knowledge , one of the main benefits is knowing how to identify both our virtues and our shortcomings. In this way, we can visualize how to reach our objectives and goals in a more realistic way.
Have more self-control: By knowing yourself it is easier to identify when one emotion or another will emerge within us. That is why there is more control over our actions and thoughts. Through the self control People tend to work in a much more creative and productive way, carrying out activities in a much more effective way.
Better decision making: He self-knowledge It is one of the most effective ways to know what is the best decision for us. This is a great advantage for people who know how to know themselves since they can make a good decision for themselves in a matter of a short time. Insecurities often show the inability to know oneself.
Good self-esteem: When someone makes good decisions, they have more self control and he is proactive, he feels much better about himself. So much so that on many occasions people lack this ability, self-knowledge and self-esteem activities are established in order to overcome these emotional potholes.
These are some of the main benefits you can obtain through self-knowledge. This list is actually much longer than it seems at first glance. Develop the self-awareness It is an ideal way to improve practically each of your daily experiences. If you think you have a deficiency due to not knowing yourself well, you can consult with a psychology professional.
Self-knowledge and self-esteem
He self-knowledge It involves knowing both your virtues and your defects, that is, in what you can improve and in those aspects that you know how to defend yourself. Knowing this is not only a fundamental part of knowing yourself better, but it will be crucial to developing good self-esteem.
When a person has healthy self-esteem, it implies that they have a good self-concept and self-evaluation, that is, they know who they are, as well as learning to see the positive side of both their defects and virtues. For this reason, the self-knowledge and self-esteem They are very related.
How to know yourself?
He emotional and personal self-knowledge You can work from different activities or exercises. In many cases, people must develop their own method in order to get closer to them. Despite this, you can use these psychological strategies to know yourself.
Meditation and mindfulness: By practicing both mindfulness, which means being present in the present moment, and meditation, people further develop their own self-awareness. This happens because these two strategies put the focus of your attention on yourself. Thanks to the development of these two self-knowledge exercises people can know more how to control the inner ‘I’.
Practice yoga: Yoga is not only a physical exercise, but it also involves a mental practice. In this type of activities, the different parts of the body are stretched, but trying to be aware of each of them. In this way, we can better visualize our body and be much more aware of what we feel at every moment.
Stop and reflect: On many occasions our unbridled pace prevents us from slowing down and taking time to reflect on ourselves. Therefore, one of the best self-knowledge exercises It will be precisely having a daily space to slow down and think about how you are feeling at all times.
Personal diary: Although we have been sold the idea that keeping a diary is an activity for children or adolescents, the reality is that writing about ourselves every day not only makes you know yourself better, but also makes you visualize more of what you want in your life. life. So an essential way to improve all aspects of your interior and exterior is precisely by keeping a personal diary.
Talk about it: He self-knowledge It can be practiced with other people. So much so that talking about it with your loved ones is a great way to see much beyond our perspective.
Know yourself It means having a calmer and more meditative life. That is why you have to work on finding a balance between the daily hustle and a space to take care of yourself.
Self-knowledge exercises
To discover oneself It is vital to train and work on it. In this way, these self-knowledge exercises and activities are proposed to get to know yourself better:
Who are you?: This self-knowledge exercise involves answering the question “Who are you?” and again. A person asks you and you answer the first thing that comes to mind, and they continue asking for a few minutes. Then people change roles. Although it may seem simple, the reality is that most people struggle because they have to continue to respond to who they are. At first, people share obvious information, but then they often end up saying things that you might not expect.
Control your inner voice: The words you say to yourself have more effect than you imagine. In this way, you must analyze your inner voice and try to reason with it in order to improve the way you treat yourself. Knowing how you relate to yourself is also a way of self-knowledge
Write once you get up : This self-knowledge activity It consists of once you get up in the morning, write whatever comes to mind, without applying any type of filter. Writing down your thoughts and/or reflections, whether in the morning or afternoon, will help you get to know yourself better.
Is self-knowledge useful for anything?
Yes, it works, but as long as the introspection is done well. For this reason, this researcher points out that instead of continually asking ourselves “why is this happening to me?, why do I feel like this?, why did I tell you this?…” let’s focus on the what and the how: ” What makes me feel bad? How can I show that I’m worth this? What is important to me?
It is not, therefore, about looking for the causes that cause us discomfort to delve deeper into the problem; so that self-knowledge If it is effective, we must think more about solutions to reduce this discomfort. Instead of “why did this happen to me?” We can ask ourselves “what is most important to me?” or “what can I do to change?”
If we ask ourselves the right questions, introspection will help us look in the mirror with confidence. Thus, we will be able to answer fundamental questions, such as “who am I?”, “how do I fit into the world?” and “How do I see myself and how do others see me?”
Why is self-knowledge important?
Knowing our limitations and abilities helps us improve, since we can overcome the former and take advantage of the latter. If we ask ourselves “what can we do to overcome our fears?” We will be able to change the dynamic and we will be able to focus not so much on the cause but on the objective: eliminating those fears.
Introspection is also extremely useful in the workplace. Knowing where our limits are makes us aware of what we can change to achieve the goals we want. For example: we wanted to get that project that we like so much, but they ended up giving it to another colleague. If we ask ourselves “why haven’t I achieved it?” We will increase our anger and this will cause us more sadness and discomfort. Therefore, it is better that we stand in front of the mirror and ask ourselves “how does our boss see us? What can I do so that the next project is given to me? Is it really important for me to achieve it?” The answers we give will help us get to know each other better and, above all, to feel satisfied and fulfilled with what we have or what we achieve.
