Ego and self awareness seldom go hand in hand. Typically they are each other’s opposite. Ego can take you so far in business but self awareness can take you much further. For a start looking into your own thinking processes isn’t something typical of most business owners. We often like to think we know it all. By our very role, business owners don’t like to be told what to do and this can be a problem when things aren’t working out for us. In most cases our attitude affects our business and our attitude is reflected by the way we deal with and relate to other people. So what is the importance of self awareness in business?
Our attitude towards money usually surfaces at one time or another in life. It determines so many things relating to work. But why do we hold these attitudes so dear to our hearts? Particularly if they no longer serve us? While learning Forex trading several years ago I found that my attitude towards buying or selling and setting stop losses and orders were fundamentally controlled by my inner viewpoint on money and cash flow. If you believe something is in limited supply it will control how you spend and ultimately live. It was fascinating to me that there were several books written on the subject of trading psychology. It is because our attitude towards money holds us in the paradigm which we are seeking to move beyond. In trading this is so very true and often I set a stop loss too close to the market price (through fear of losing more than I was able) and in doing so I lost many more times than if I had placed a larger stop loss. A ‘stop loss’ is simply a limit you place in a market order where the market will take you out (at a loss) to prevent you from making larger losses should the market turn away from your predicted market direction.
This paradigm is true also in business where fear of advertising or spending any money on promotion holds your business exactly where it is. The fear of stepping beyond your current comfort zones in life is most likely to be the primary reason why things don’t change or improve. Only by taking bold steps can you make bold achievements. Holding on and ‘playing safe’ cannot change your circumstances if you are currently being ruled by a limiting belief or unconscious behavior pattern.
Self worth is another factor which will hold you from the success (you think) you deserve! Quite literally you don’t think you are worth it, therefore your unconscious mind will sabotage your conscious efforts to make things work at every turn. It is the secret spy who undermines you and talks you down. You need to first notice your inner voice and self talk doing this before you can see it for what it is. Perhaps it is even telling you that you are pursuing a life which is not right for you, or even leading you down a different path?
Noticing your self talk and correcting it in a more positive and self supporting way is the first step to remedy this behavior pattern. Notice how you talk about yourself to others. Do you put yourself down? Here is another block to your self growth and business success. Talking yourself up isn’t necessarily completely egotistical and it is an effective way to motive and inspire yourself into positive action. Noticing the ‘gremlins’ in your mind which self sabotage and talk you down, even when others are not there, is a major step towards building a more positive self image.
“You cannot grow beyond your self image” Jay Kubaassek
Learning to harness the power of your subconscious mind in a more effective and productive way is a good first step to greater achievement, happiness and success in life. Often by default, our subconscious is working against us. Our poor self image is at odds with our constant physical, mental and emotional efforts to build a happier life. When your conscious and subconscious minds line up with purposeful direction then things will very quickly change in your life for the better. Check out this book if you’re serious about doing this.
Successful people are outwardly confident and project a positive self image to others. Perhaps you are holding onto fear of being found out and ‘playing a role’ to please others? Who are you really? If you were completely yourself who would notice a difference and would they still like you? Perhaps they would like you more? BeingĂ‚Â congruent in your actions, thoughts, words and deeds is a key to your happiness and success. Having too many hats is a recipe for disaster and sooner or later it can become unbearable. At the very least you will struggle to build any momentum into your life due to having too many conflicting ‘personalities’. For example if you grumble all day about your boss, but can do nothing about it, eventually the constant strain can become unbearable. Speaking up for yourself or leaving a situation which causes constant pressure or stress is one way of being congruent with how you are feeling.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony”. Mahatma Ghandi
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