The Secret To Developing A Growth Mindset is Self-Awareness
How to See Your Blind Spots
Most of us struggle with reflecting on our thoughts, feelings, and actions.
This is because it’s not easy dealing with the pain that comes with reflecting on them. So, we use distractions to numb our minds from the pain.
We do this in different ways. It can be through social media, sex, drugs or alcohol.
It can be by watching movies on Netflix or procrastinating on a task we’re supposed to execute.
At the same time, we seek growth in our lives. We want to feel confident in our decisions and want more satisfaction.
But these distractions blind us to areas where we need to improve.
A lack of awareness of these blind spots can have a negative impact on our lives by influencing our actions.
What is Self-awareness?
Self-awareness is our ability to observe and identify our thoughts, feelings, and impulses to find out whether they are grounded in reality or not.
Imagine you were someone else, and you’re watching your thoughts on a screen.
Self-awareness is your ability to watch those thoughts and then make rational judgments about them.
You can see how your negative thoughts make you feel.
You can see your impulsive actions and how they impact your life.
You can see your limiting beliefs and how they stop you from growing.
But the problem is that everything happens so fast it’s almost like you’re not aware of it. It feels out of your control.
You find yourself doing things you shouldn’t be doing, and you feel bad about yourself.
You keep breaking the promises you make to yourself, and you feel guilty for not living up to your word.
And you want to escape but don’t know how.
The secret to escaping from this cycle and constantly growing to be the person you want to be is to develop self-awareness.
How to Become Self-aware and Develop a Growth Mindset
A Growth Mindset is how you view challenges in your life. If you see challenges as learning opportunities, you have a growth mindset.
But if you struggle with negative thoughts and compulsive behaviours that are holding you back, then you need to develop a growth mindset.
The question is how?
Here’s How
Pay attention to your thoughts and emotions
Label them (‘Good’, ‘Bad’, ‘Happy’ ‘Sad’). But don’t judge them.
Observe what is going on in your mind and body with focus. Accept what you’re feeling. If you feel bad for procrastinating, acknowledge the feeling.
How can you improve on that?
View that feeling as feedback for you not to fall into the same pattern. Work to improve yourself.
Question them
Question why you feel the way you feel the moment when those negative thoughts and feelings arise. You can do this by writing your answers in a journal.
Ask yourself where those feelings came from.
Don’t trust your first answer. Keep asking, and dig deeper.
The point of self-awareness is self-acceptance. Accept who you are in the moment and work to improve yourself.
What are your strengths and weaknesses?
Do you have limiting beliefs holding you back?
What areas of your life do you need to improve?
Which activities steal your energy?
Keep searching.
“The only questions that really matter are the ones you ask yourself.” — Ursula K. Le Guin
Get feedback from others
Asking someone you trust to help you point out your blind spots can be very helpful in developing your self-awareness.
But it can be a painful route to take.
Our friends and family usually have a better perspective about us than we do.
Approach this simply by embracing their feedback and constructive criticism. View it as a learning opportunity.
Keep doing this forever
You have to constantly look out for blind spots in your life. A growth mindset requires us to constantly check ourselves so we can evolve.
And we have to do this for life. Play the long-term game. It will get better over time.
Final Thoughts
When we refuse to develop self-awareness and accept ourselves, then we return to the constant need to numb and distract ourselves from the pain of growth and doing what we need to do.
Self-awareness is a never-ending battle with our thoughts, emotions, and impulses. Keep fighting.
Remember:
- Pay attention to your thoughts and emotions
- Question them
- Get feedback from others
- Repeat the process forever
