Now it is time take your practice/training of Being Present  and Mindfulness to being more self-aware to grow as a person.  This is an ongoing practice; the key is understanding yourself on how you interpret and react.

Step 3: Self-Awareness

Self-Awareness is vitally important in the work of transformation because the habits of our personality let go most completely when we see them in the moment as they are occurring. (The Wisdom of the Enneagram)

Without the real inner support of self-knowledge, our well-being is entirely dependent on external circumstances – on our life going well. (The Enneagram Institute) Why would you let others dictate your well-being?  Take control of you!

Why it is important in life:

1. Improves communication
2. Reduces conflict
3. Facilitates collaboration
4. Make better decisions

I believe using the Enneagram is a great tool to help you navigate the process in a non-judgmental way.  When you fall back into the unhelpful patterns of thinking, feeling, and acting try the “SNAP” method.  

S - Stop

• Whenever you experience a distressing emotion or thought stream it’s a signal that perhaps your instinct has taken back the wheel of your life.
• When this happens “Stop” to give your full attention to whatever’s happening in your life at that precise moment.

N - Notice

• Often, we get swept up in the rush of daily activities and habitual reactive behaviors, but rarely do we step back to observe and learn from them.
• Once we’ve come to a full stop, we look inside to see what’s happening, what might be triggering us.  No labeling, analyzing, criticizing, or trying to fix anything. Your job right now is to simply notice, nothing else.

A - Ask

• Now that you’re aware to what’s happening in the moment, you can ask yourself four questions that will help you get back on track if you need it:
  • What am I believing right now?
  • Is this belief true? Can I absolutely know it’s true?
  • What happens when I believe this thought?
  • How would my life change if I stopped believing this thought?

P - Pivot

• Once you’ve identified and interrupted the circuit on your bogus belief, you’re now able to pivot and make different, healthier, more helpful choices than you did before you knew your pattern of personality.

Circling back to the initial blog in this series where we focused on Being Present.  Life has many distractions, we need to eliminate the distractions and focus on what will make us more mindful, which will lead to being more self-aware which leads to a happier you that will transfer to being a better partner, friend, parent, sibling, workmate, etc.  To help on eliminating the distractions start focusing on what is essential each day to reach your goal.  Greg McKeown is a great source to help you.  Three key tips on Essentialism Thinking:

1. I choose vs I have to,
2. Only a few things really matter,
3. I can do anything BUT NOT everything.

Ponder this:  Growing awareness feels compassionate and strong, patient, and wise, indomitable, and of great value. It enables us to see who we are. It is the “I” beyond name, without personality—our True Nature. (The Wisdom of the Enneagram)

Good luck on your journey. I promise you this will be challenging; tears and laughter are in your future.  The time you invest on self-awareness now will enrich your life going forward.  Remember you are not alone on this journey.

Daily fitness helps to clear your mind and reduce stress/anxiety, which helps you develop self-awareness. Let PUSH511 help you with your fitness through CrossFit Group Classes and Personal Training.

Being Present – Blog #1

Developing Mindfulness – Blog #2

Sources/Helpful Sites:

Enneagram iEQ9 Assessment

Books

• The Road Back To You by Ian Morgan Cron & Suzanne Stabile
• The Wisdom Of The Enneagram by Don Richard Riso & Russ Hudson
• The Complete Enneagram by Beatrice Chestnut, PhD
• Essentialism by Greg McKeown

Podcast

• Typology
• What’s Essential