Self-Awareness From All Angles
One of the core-components of self-awareness is what is going on in our physiology i.e. our bodies. However, most of our work and lives is dominated by our heads and cognitive space, and I believe this has been exacerbated since COVID as we spend an increasing amount of time on-line, and when we are on zoom or teams we are just connecting with one another’s heads!
When I was doing my research into self-awareness, I was consciously aware that I was just not very self-aware regarding what was going on in my body – in fact I was largely disconnected from it. This was of course exacerbated by the cognitive work that is a PhD. However, the way our body is responding is a rich source of data, and by spending a couple of seconds noticing what is going on in our bodies we can change how we feel, think and respond to any given situation or moment. My wonderful coaching supervisor Dr Eunice Aquilina talks about how our body carries our history and this then influences the shape we show up with – so how is your history shaping how you show up? I know that I carry a lot of my tension in my neck and jaw, this can lead to tightness which I feel can create a defensive stance thereby potentially creating a barrier with others. There are other moments when I am feeling ‘hooked or triggered’ by another person and when I spend a moment paying attention to my physiological responses I can change how I act – usually for the better.
I have been helpfully reminded of this as I start the year as I have spent a few days doing yoga, walking on the coast and sea-swimming – my yoga teacher encouraged us to really notice how our bodies were feeling, how are faces felt as they were buffeted by the wind and how our skin tingled with the cold-water – a sense of connection, rather than disconnection and over-coming any numbing of what was going on in my body.
I wonder how much better our connections, responses and actions at work and home might change if we just spent a little longer noticing what was going on in our bodies and how we were feeling. My research highlighted that the greater we are connected with self the better and deeper we connect with others. If you believe you are self-aware or want to deepen your self-awareness this is a component which needs attention.
Simply start by spending a minute or two by scanning your body from head to toe/toe to head and noticing what is going on – noticing that you can’t sense anything is a great start; or spend a couple of seconds in the fresh-air and notice the sensation on your face.
If you want to read or think about this some more have a look at my book “You Are Not as Self-Aware as You Think You Are”; and Dr Eunice Aquilina’s book – “Embodying Authenticity”.
