Self-Awareness & Mental Health
May is Mental Health Awareness month. In fact, we wrote a post about it and its importance HERE that you should check out. Self-Awareness is an integral part of your Mental Health Awareness. Becoming more self-aware helps you make better therapeutic relationships and more informed decisions! So how do we increase our Self-Awareness? Let’s start with a question.
What is the difference between “how do I feel?” and “what do I feel?”
Maybe we should start with an easier question. Do you want to be more fulfilled, have stronger relationships, be more creative, be more confident, and be better at communicating? Yes! Yes, you do! Here is another question for you. Do you want to relate better to your colleagues, direct reports, and superiors so that you can work better as a team? Yes! The answer is still yes!
Increasing our self-awareness does just that. Merriam-Webster defines self-awareness as “an awareness of one’s own personality or individuality.” The ability to truly understand who we really are. Dr. Tasha Eurich, author of Insight, studied thousands of individuals and found that 95% of people believe they are self-aware but only 10-15% of us actually are.
How do we become more self-aware?
So how do we increase our self-awareness? Let’s go back to the original question. What is the difference between “how do I feel?” and “what do I feel?” The difference is small and enormous at the same time. The question “how do I feel?” separates us from our emotions. It requires us to step outside of our own minds and try to find the answer. By changing the question to “what do I feel?” we now must explicitly name our emotions. We must truly find out what we are feeling to answer the question
Dr. Eurich also has a specific example of a brand manager who got a terrible review from his boss. Instead of asking “why are we like oil and water?” he asked himself “what can I do to show her I’m the best person for the job?” They are now known in their company as the best example of how opposites can work together.
Teamraderie is here to help you on your Self-Awareness Journey! Try our Reduce Stress and Anxiety to Improve Team Focus experience. More and more teams have asked us for an experience that helps increase self-awareness in their teams. This experience will help teams practice self-awareness and to take actionable steps to recognize the source of the stress and anxiety.
Become more confident and relate better to your colleagues. Become a better you! Ask what instead of why.
Teamraderie Experiences can be explored and booked online via Teamraderie experience finder. If you are seeking a personalized recommendation, reach out to us at team@teamraderie.com.