“Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” Aristotle
There are so many amazing gifts that we can give the people in our lives, be it through quality time, words of encouragement, small, personal gifts and all of the other best ways to love someone through their love languages. (If you do not know what those are- contact me- I would love to help you on that journey of discovering your love language as well as those of the ones around you!!!)
However, I believe we overlook an impactful gift that we can give ourselves, our relationships, our communication and the potential for growth from our conflicts.
The gift of self-awareness.
I mean really – how can we ever expect to completely understand what it is that we feel about a conflict, situation or relationship if we don’t do the important internal work. How can we ever expect anyone (friend, partner, loved one) to fully meet us where we are at, when we have no idea personally, where we are at?
Self-awareness saves us from putting unrealistic expectations on the people in our lives. Because let’s be honest, the only person who can save us from ourselves is ourselves! *It’s not to say that we cannot be loved until we first love ourselves (that is a dangerous statement!) rather we have done the work to know our needs as well as our boundaries!
We own our own awareness, our own internal work. Our acknowledgments of our strengths and weaknesses, as well as our short-coming and our invaluable gifts to those around us.
When we employ healthy self-awareness, we learn about ourselves and we set healthy boundaries. We don’t avoid accountability but rather embrace it. We understand no one is perfect so we look for grace while giving grace. We value experiences and employ empathy while seeking sympathy.
Self- awareness goes hand in hand with incredible amounts of growth and relational sustainability!!
Do not underestimate the power of self-awareness!
“Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom.”–Lao Tzu.
Your coach,
Joni Woods
Relationship and Communication Coach
Journey Coaching
734-436-6200
Journeylifecoaching.life
Joniwoods.com
“Creating the future You want!”
