Canada Career Month: Increasing Your Self Awareness
Photo credit: v.ivash – www.freepik.com
A strong sense of self-awareness, having a clear idea of who we are and how we are seen by others, is a valuable trait to possess and practice in both the workplace and in everyday life. However, according to research by the Harvard Business Review, most people overestimate how self-aware they really are.
As part of Canada Career Month, we’re celebrating eight ways that career development gets you going. One of the ways to stay on the move is “Increasing Your Self Awareness.” Knowing who you are is a superpower with your career journey. When you’re clear about who you are and what you want to accomplish, many more doors open.
As you might imagine, there are many benefits to practicing self-awareness. Here are a few researched outcomes of being self-aware as listed in an article by Positive Psychology:
- It can make us more proactive, boost our acceptance, and encourage positive self-development (Sutton, 2016).
- Self-awareness allows us to see things from the perspective of others, practice self-control, work creatively and productively, and experience pride in ourselves and our work as well as general self-esteem (Silvia & O’Brien, 2004).
- It leads to better decision-making (Ridley, Schutz, Glanz, & Weinstein, 1992).
- It can make us better at our jobs, better communicators in the workplace, and enhance our self-confidence and job-related wellbeing (Sutton, Williams, & Allinson, 2015).
The benefits listed are reason enough to work on improving self-awareness, but this list is by no means exhaustive. Self-awareness has the potential to enhance virtually every experience you have, as it’s a tool and a practice that can be used anywhere, anytime, to ground yourself in the moment, realistically evaluate yourself and the situation, and help you make good choices.
What to learn more?
- Read the full Positive Psychology article: What Is Self-Awareness and Why Is It Important? [+5 Ways to Increase It]
- Watch the TEDx talk “Increase your self-awareness with one simple fix” by Organizational Psychologist Tasha Eurich
- Explore this topic with colleagues at our upcoming Career Speed Development Session
References:
- Ridley, D. S., Schutz, P. A., Glanz, R. S., & Weinstein, C. E. (1992). Self-regulated learning: The interactive influence of metacognitive awareness and goal-setting. The Journal of Experimental Education, 60, 293-306.
- Silvia, P. J., & O’Brien, M. E. (2004). Self-awareness and constructive functioning: Revisiting “the Human Dilemma.” Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 23, 475-489.
- Sutton, A. (2016). Measuring the effects of self-awareness: Construction of the Self-Awareness Outcomes Questionnaire. Europe’s Journal of Psychology, 12, 645-658.
- Sutton, A., Williams, H. M., & Allinson, C. W. (2015). A longitudinal, mixed-method evaluation of self-awareness training in the workplace. European Journal of Training and Development, 39, 610-627.