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Know Thyself
As I wrote in the previous article on Attaining a Humony Mindset, this comes through four key and integrated drivers that create an authentic you:
- Self-awareness
- Self-understanding
- Reflection
- Non-judgmental mindset
Importantly, it all starts with self-awareness. Undoubtedly, the best two-word sentence in history was written above the Temple of Apollo in Delphi, Greece: Know Thyself.
Self-awareness is a heightened sense of continuous attention to one’s feelings, emotions, and thoughts. Self-understanding is being aware of one’s thoughts about one’s feelings, emotions, and beliefs and mindful of the impact these have on one’s contemplated, intended, or actual actions. When combined and integrated, these elements lead to self-definition.
As Maslow stated, “What is necessary to change a person is to change their awareness of themselves.”
Self-awareness is not about looking deeply within one’s internal chamber of secrets and hidden motivations to discover “one’s true self.” When done properly, it is quite the opposite. It should involve open, honest, candid, and ongoing self-observation of what drives you to take your actions, think your thoughts, and feel the emotions that bubble up inside you.
