The importance of self-awareness

posted by Jeff | Thursday, November 3, 2011, 2:56 PM | comments: 0

My friend Carrie responded to my previous post about not being generally unhappy, despite what you might perceive as a tone to some of my blog posts. She totally gets me. I think I would further be clear that, for me at least, blogging is somewhat of a therapeutic tool that helps me organize my thoughts and commit to them in a somewhat public way. I figure if I do that, and I'm bullshitting myself, no shortage of people will call me out on it. Besides, if you read any blog by any person, and assume that you're getting a complete picture of who they are, you're sadly mistaken. There are so many things I do not share in public, and I'm sure Carrie and everyone else who does this is the same way.

There is a bigger theme on this subject, and I think it involves self-awareness. We all have our issues, flaws, strengths, etc. That's a constant. What matters is what we do with all of that. It starts with acknowledgement that these traits exist at all. You can't embrace what works for you or change what you don't like if you are not self-aware.

I know that sounds obvious, but when I was younger and stupider, I figured I could will strengths into being and weakness out of existence. I honestly didn't see myself doing this until I was 32, when everything that normal and comfortable started to crumble around me. It took a shitstorm of life to get my head in the game, and I've tried to keep to that every since.

So whether you keep a blog or a journal or just talk to a close friend, figuring yourself out is a lot easier when you can honestly evaluate your reality.


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