The Power of Self-Awareness

JT - Self-awareness is the ability to take an honest look at your life without any attachment to it being right or wrong, good or bad.

One of the books that changed my life was The Power of Awareness by Neville. It is the book Dr. Wayne Dyer refers to in his book Wishes Fulfilled: Mastering the Art of Manifesting. I didn’t consciously know much about self-awareness before I read the book. One of the quotes that impacted me in that book was –

“Everything depends upon its attitude towards itself; that which it will not affirm as true of itself cannot awaken in this world.” (p.9).

~ Neville

This book and a few others, supported my understanding of self-awareness and the power of self-awareness, which is what I wanted to share today.

What is Self-Awareness?

There are a few definitions on self-awareness including –

  • “conscious knowledge of one’s own character and feelings.” ~ Google
  • “an awareness of one’s own personality or individuality” ~ Merriam-Webster
  • “the quality of being conscious of one’s own feelings, character, etc” ~ Collins Dictionary
  • “good knowledge and judgement about yourself” ~ Cambridge Dictionary
  • “Self-awareness is the ability to take an honest look at your life without any attachment to it being right or wrong, good or bad.” ~ Debbie Ford
  • “Self-awareness is the capacity for introspection and the ability to recognize oneself as an individual separate from the environment and other individuals.” ~ Wikipedia

After reading the above definitions, can you start to see the power of self-awareness?

9 Reasons Why There Is Power Within Self-Awareness

For me self-awareness is a strength. Being self-aware is not always easy, however following are 9 reasons why I see there is power within self-awareness.

1. You Know Your Core Values

“Developing inner values is much like physical exercise. The more we train our abilities, the stronger they become. The difference is that, unlike the body, when it comes to training the mind, there is no limit to how far we can go.”

~ His Holiness the Dalai Lama

For me, this was one of the first things I did when I started to develop my self-awareness. When I finished playing tennis, I truly didn’t know much else about myself. Most of my conversations with people were around tennis and how I could improve in that (not the other aspects of my life and who I was outside of tennis). I now know values drive behaviours and actions, so investing time to know my own values was a gift and helps me make decisions.

2. You Start to Realise What is Really Happening Now

“Our suffering stems from ignorance. We react because we do not know what we are doing, because we do not know the reality of ourselves. The mind spends most of the time lost in fantasies and illusions, reliving pleasant or unpleasant experiences and anticipating the future with eagerness or fear. While lost in such cravings or aversions, we are unaware of what is happening now, what we are doing now. Yet surely this moment, now, is the most important for us. We cannot live in the past; it is gone. Nor can we live in the future; it is forever beyond our grasp. We can live only in the present. If we are unaware of our present actions, we are condemned to repeating the mistakes of the past and can never succeed in attaining our dreams for the future. But if we can develop the ability to be aware of the present moment, we can use the past as a guide for ordering our actions in the future, so that we may attain our goal.”

~ S.N. Goenka

Even though this can be challenging, by starting to be truly with the present moment, you can start what is happening now and then with that presence and awareness, conscious action can be taken.

3. You Know Your Strengths and Limitations

“A truly strong person does not need the approval of others any more than a lion needs the approval of sheep.”

Vernon Howard

Yes, you know your strengths and what you are good at. You also know your limitations, so you can ask for help from other people to support you with them (as your limitations will be someone else’s strength).

4. You Know What Motivates You

“You can motivate by fear, and you can motivate by reward. But both those methods are only temporary. The only lasting thing is self motivation.”

~ Homer Rice

Over the years, I have learnt that people will try to motivate you extrinsically, however I truly believe your power is when you find what drives and motivates you intrinsically.

5. You Can Develop Emotional Intelligence and Discover Feelings Come and Go

“Feelings come and go like clouds in a windy sky. Conscious breathing is my anchor.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh

With emotional intelligence, you start to see that feelings and emotions are information and can help you to discover insight in to what you are experiencing and then use that information so you can make the most conscious choice moving forward.

6. You Know Your Boundaries

Lack of boundaries invites lack of respect.”

~ Anonymous

Do you know what you will tolerate in a relationship? What about what is your responsibility and what is not? Developing your own boundaries through self-awareness is important. Yes – I know this can be challenging, however over the years I have learnt that compassionate people have really clear boundaries.

7. You Know When A Change Needs to Happen

“DENIAL – Don’t, Even, Notice, I, Am, Lying”

~ Unknown

Have you ever thought something was different from the way it is or were living in denial? It is OK, I have also done it and am grateful I started to listen to myself and see what changes needed to happen (e.g. finding a movement practise I enjoyed).

8. You See When You Are Tangled in Unkind Thoughts

“If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite.”

~ William Blake

Before I started the habit of mindfulness and reflecting, I believed so many words (which became thoughts and went in to beliefs) from other people. This information (i.e. words, opinions, judgements etc) were stored in my subconscious mind and subsequently, I didn’t know it was there. When I started to realise it was there, I started to question the thoughts and realised they were not true. Which helped me untangle from them. This was so freeing and start to create my own life.

9. You’re Aware of How You Come Across to Others

“Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.”

~ Desmond Tutu

When you have self-awareness you can adjust your actions and words when you are with other people. This can increase connection, empathy and grow the relationship. Whilst doing this you still have a strong sense or sense, because you…

10. You Learn to Trust Yourself

“Remember, all the answers you need are inside of you; you only have to become quiet enough to hear them.” 

~ Debbie Ford

Not sure if anything else needs to be said here – oh what a gift self-trust is!

Over to You…

I hope this post has helped you the power of self-awareness! Are there any other reasons you would add? If so, feel free to share them below 🙂

If you are ready to reclaim your courage and take the next step towards your freedom and opening your heart, why not join our Toolkit?

Reference –

Neville. (2010). The Power of Awareness. California, USA: G & J Publishing Company.

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