Anita Ojeda 
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September marks another self-care awareness month. What does self-care awareness mean to you? I used to think self-care was all about manicures, retail therapy, and self-indulgence. Not any more. Find out the true meaning in this month’s series.
How self-aware are you? I recently discovered that my self-awareness wasn’t all the great. Check out these five self-care hacks to help you develop your self-awareness.
Lucky You, You Always Knew What You Wanted to Be When You Grew Up!
“Where are you working now,” I asked my sister.
“I’m almost done getting my Realtor license,” she said with pride.
“How awesome! I bet you make an excellent Realtor.”
“I really do love it,” she enthused. “Can you believe it took so long for me to find a job I really love. You’re so lucky.”
“Lucky? How so?” I asked.
“You always knew what you wanted to be when you grew up!”
“But I didn’t!” I assured her.
“Nah, you always wanted to be a teacher.”
I shrugged, not wanted to start an argument. But I don’t remember ever lining my dolls up to teach them, nor researching careers in education at any point in my life.
Sure, I taught horsemanship at a summer camp starting at age 16, and I enjoyed it. But knowing what I wanted to do for a living? Shoot, I changed majors five times in college! I didn’t even get my teaching license until AFTER I graduated with a BA in History and Spanish. In order to teach, I had to go back to school for two years. And I only chose that course because I received a scholarship.
While my sister (and perhaps other family members) think I knew what I wanted to do, I don’t remember knowing at all. After all, I keep returning to school to get endorsements to teach even more things. I seemed to fall into teaching by default. Don’t get me wrong, I love my job and I’m passionate about my students and their success. Do other things generate the same love and passion in my life? Yes. Could I have turned them into a career? Maybe, maybe not. Has not knowing myself very well kept me from being the best teacher I could possibly be? Probably.
Should We Even Worry About Self-Awareness?
Should we worry about our level of self-awareness? I think yes. Without self-awareness, we react instead of act. People might not find us pleasant to be around, or we may find ourselves constantly in relational hot water. We can go through life glibly unaware of ourselves, or, we can take steps to get to know ourselves better.
Maybe you don’t struggle with self-awareness the way I do. That scene from Runaway Bride always comes to mind–the one where Richard Gere Accuses Julia Roberts of not even knowing how she likes her eggs cooked.
Maybe you can relate. Sometimes we go through life trying so hard to please others we lose ourselves in our quest. But a lack of self-awareness can only hurt us. A lack of self-awareness we can easily turn us into a victim. Others may sense our weakness and try to take advantage of us, or we may feel constantly dissatisfied and take on the victim role.
Listen to today’s podcast for five hacks to help you become more self-aware. Just because you aren’t self-aware now, doesn’t mean you have to stay that way forever. When we take care of ourselves, we know who we are, what we stand for, and what makes us tick.
Self-awareness helps us know how to better take care of ourselves. If we lack self-awareness, we won’t know when to say ‘no,’ when to rest, or what restores our energy. Self-awareness acts like the parent to self-care. Get to know yourself better, and you’ll find it easier to take care of yourself in healthy ways.
Show Notes
Building a Storybrand (Rebranded in 2021 as Business Made Simple) podcast.
Lead to Win podcast.
Self-help books I’ve found helpful.
5 Voices: How to Communicate Effectively with Everyone You Lead
Dream Big, by Bob Goff
The Powerful Purpose of Introverts: Why the World Needs You to be You by Holley Gerth
Here’s a post about growth mindset–a companion to self-awareness.
Did you know self-care has a parent? Its name is self-awareness. #selfcareawarenessmonth #selfcaremonth #SelfCare Click To Tweet
“Without self-awareness, we react instead of act. ” Yes, so true. I was not self-aware growing up and I have had to use my adult years to learn about myself. But it is so worth it. It helps us in every relationship and decision. Becoming more self-aware of our self also helps us be more aware of others.
Theresa+Boedeker recently posted…Others Junk and a See-Through Trunk
Oh I agree with your following statement Anita;
“Without self-awareness, we react instead of act.”
Blessings,
Jennifer
Tea With Jennifer recently posted…Spring has sprung!
I think I am pretty clueless, Anita, and have figured out so much of my life in arrears. Isn’t it just so amazing how God figures into the equation?
Michele+Morin recently posted…Whatever the Challenge, Because of God’s Love, You Can Stand the Test
Self awareness is so important for personal growth. In order to know anything at all about life, we have to be looking inside at how our experiences effect and change us over time. Another great post, my friend!
Shelbee
http://www.shelbeeontheedge.com
I love that part of the story from The Runaway Bride. BTW – I like my eggs poached! LOL I knew what I wanted to do since I was seven – but how God planned to use that dream hadn’t even been invented yet. Knowing enabled me to stand determined, though often frustrated, when so many people along the way told me I couldn’t. I had more, “You’re not good enoughs” than I ever had encouragement to pursue, grow and develop. My kiddos, though, some don’t know what they want to do – and it makes me wonder if I presented too many possibilities to them.
Maryleigh recently posted…A Rain-Drop-Size Love that Needs Growing & Linky
Anita, I know I sound like everyone else, but your statement about without self-awareness we react instead of act is so spot on. Too often my reactionary attitude stems from a true lack of self awareness. thank you for this helpful post!
Donna recently posted…Taking the Anxiety Out of Reading the Headlines
So funny that you used Runaway Bride as an illustration. I just stayed up late rewatching it!
Lauren Renee Sparks recently posted…Let’s Talk About Mental Health
Haha! It’s such a classic!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…SCH 066 Self-Care Hacks to Help You Form Positive Spiritual Practices
I think the general consensus is, we all love your line, “Without self-awareness, we react instead of act.”
This is one of the reasons why I try to practice reflection – to understand why I felt the way I did about recent life. We live life so fast it becomes a blur and we don’t even know how we feel about things.
And … I did not know what I wanted as my life’s work as a child. I said up until I hit 50 that I don’t know what I want to be when I grow up. Finally, I know!
Jerralea+Winn+Miller recently posted…4 Rules for Rescue
Such a great post! So true about self awareness being key and so needed before we can practice self care and self love.
Julie recently posted…How Can Mom Plan Her Day So That She Always Has Free Time?
Hello Anita!
Thank you or another week of hosting and wish you a great day!
Sinziana recently posted…365 Days of Lifestyle Photography / Week 4
I’m afraid I’m not into podcasts for various reasons. 🙂 I’d much rather read something at my own speed and be able to reread some parts, scan others, note main points, etc. But I did make time to listen to this one. I agree, some degree of self-awareness helps. Reading about introversion as an adult helped me understand myself immensely. So did reading about different personality types, though I am not as into that as some.
When I was in school, there was some kind of test we took–I wish I could remember the name of it–that helped narrow down one’s interests and strengths and suggested several types of work one might be interested in.
As I listened to your podcast, the verse that kept coming to mind was, “Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!” (Psalm 139:23.). We think of that searching in regard to sin, and we need it to open our eyes to our blind spots. But I think we can ask God to do that, too, in regard to helping us know ourselves (especially in light of the rest of the chapter). Then, as I kept listening, your last point was very similar.
I think another factor in self-awareness is listening to what other people observe about us. We had an incident with a young man from a former church on social media recently. Several people gently told him he was being harsh in his reaction, but he just reacted more harshly. If several people mention the same thing…it’s probably one of those logs in our eyes the Scripture talks about. Likewise, when someone shares that something we did blessed them, that might be an indicator of a direction God wants us to go.
Barbara Harper recently posted…Kindness
Yikes! Didn’t realize I was being so wordy til this published! Sorry about taking up so much space in your comments section.
Barbara Harper recently posted…Back to the Classics Challenge Wrap-Up
It’s all good! You made some valuable and wonderful points!
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Five Reasons You Deserve to Take Care of Yourself Spiritually
Confession time: I’m like you and would must rather read, highlight, underline, and ponder. Thank you for taking the time to listen–it means the world to me because I know how you feel :).
I like your take on the verse–God can help us become more self-aware–after all, he designed us and the devil tries to mess with our heads from day one and get us out of sync with the design God had in mind!
As far as the young man and his reaction, we experienced something similar to that when our daughter had an undiagnosed mental illness. People who know and care about the young man might want to dig deeper and see if any of his behavior flags a possible mental illness.
Anita Ojeda recently posted…Intrigue, Inspiration, Romance, and the Gilded Age
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