{"id":22944,"date":"2013-12-02T09:00:24","date_gmt":"2013-12-02T16:00:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/?p=22944"},"modified":"2014-10-20T06:37:54","modified_gmt":"2014-10-20T13:37:54","slug":"the-art-and-importance-of-self-awareness","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.goodtherapy.org\/blog\/art-and-importance-of-self-awareness-120213","title":{"rendered":"The Art and Importance of Self-Awareness"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Mature\u201cYour visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes.\u201d<\/em> – Carl Jung<\/p>\n

One thing is certain: each person has his or her own views, thoughts, and emotions<\/a>. Even though we are so different, we experience similar patterns of self-analysis which make up who we are today. These patterns are typically created by the end result of our behaviors and viewed either negatively or favorably by our strongest critic, the almighty self. It\u2019s amazing how our growth is determined by how the self translates our actions.<\/p>\n

Self-awareness is the ability to formulate a summary of our behavior based on past and current thoughts and emotions. It allows us to understand what\u2019s going on in our heads and why. Self-victimization, on the other hand, prevents us from accepting that we\u2019re responsible for it, and for what we do as a result.<\/p>\n

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Being self-aware is the ability to see our true selves without blinders. This is the first step in being true to one\u2019s self. It requires empathy, patience, strength, humility, and love. One of the hardest things to do is see one\u2019s self as fallible, but that is what we are. We all make mistakes and we all have our triumphs. The great ones are capable of seeing both extremes in oneself and learning how to merge them together to make them a better individual.<\/p>\n

As humans we generally spend our life living within the two hemispheres or poles of self-thought. On one side, we play out our lives as victims due to painful events<\/a> in our past and learn to feel powerless when confronting obstacles. These thoughts are considered indications of victimization behavior, and may look different for each individual:<\/p>\n