Life Reflections: Being Self-Aware

Being self-aware is not always easy, it causes us to reflect on the complexities of ourselves and our life, which is why some people choose not to embrace it. Ignorance definitely causes bliss, the less aware you are the less anxiety and issues you have to deal with. As someone who is both highly self-aware and suffers from anxiety, I’ve always felt like it was a weakness, but recently I’ve learned to embrace it.

It’s allowed me to connect and understand others in a deeper more meaningful way, to be more conscious and a better friend, and I hate to say it but it honestly has made me more brave. Being in tune with reality and brokenness of the world, with our faults, but knowing there is still good and choosing to face it everyday is not for the faint of heart. Technology has made it very difficult for us to practice self-awareness and less mindful of ourselves.

We spend hours scrolling through our phones looking at other people’s lives or keeping up with TV Shows, allowing us to run more on auto-pilot than anything else instead of paying attention to what really matters to us: our mental health, our families, and in some cases even allowing us to make excuses for not following our goals.

I would rather not spend my life living under false pretenses. I want to be truest person I can be to myself, to know when I have changed and to leave those situations that no longer match with my core values, believes and wants. I want to make sure I am living the life I truly want. As humans, we may never fully understand ourselves but perhaps there is something special in exploring, understanding and becoming ourselves that makes life worth living.

And I say all of this with the notion that this is not for everyone, and that you can still be happy and live your life without being self-aware. Some people would rather not spend their time giving things too much and thought and would rather live in each moment. I totally understand and respect people’s choices and I know that there isn’t a right or wrong way to live our life (since it’s our own and we get to live it as we please.)

I just truly believe that being self-aware allows to step back from the busyness of our everyday lives, a step back from societal standards, a step back from what we think the reality of our lives are, and separate our understanding and desires from with those of the external world.