Change Starts with Awareness

Every January millions of people around the world seek to improve their lives.  They draw an arbitrary line in the sand and say "From here forward, things are going to be different!"  Whether or not they achieve their goal is for a completely different article.  Instead, what do you do when you feel in your core, that something needs to change, but you struggle to identify what that one thing is.  Maybe you're depressed, overwhelmed or just feel stuck, or perhaps you're facing a more extreme hardship in your life.  Regardless of the challenge that you're facing, becoming self-aware is always the first step forward.

If you're struggling to identify your next steps, a self assessment is a great place to begin.  Aside from traumatic experiences, most of us struggle to move forward due to our mindset and habits.  As uncomfortable as it may be to accept, we're often our own worst enemies!  In those cases, the only way to conquer our challenges is to accept personal ownership.  Are you in self protective mode, or progress mode?  Are you in selfish mode or service mode?  Do you have a fear that is preventing you from taking the next step?   A fear of loss, a fear that it will be too hard, or a fear that the outcome won't be what you want.  These are just a few example of questions that can help shift your mindset from scarcity to learning.  The more you can improve your self awareness, the more you'll begin to understand your tendencies, and what mindset or bad habits are holding you back from achieving your dreams.

For most of us, as we become more self aware, the path forward seems to become much more clear.  As I think about the millions of people who set New Year Resolutions only to fall off the wagon a few weeks later, I can't help but wonder if their outcome would have improved if they had begun with a self assessment.  At a minimum, if they did an honest assessment of themselves, without self judgement, I believe that their path to creating meaningful change in their lives would be much smoother.

So, ask yourself some honest questions and start taking ownership of the results.  How self aware are you?