Self-knowledge is a competence of intrapersonal intelligence and is basic to be able to develop many other skills. It consists of knowing ourselves in depth, knowing how to understand our emotions, strengths, weaknesses, motivations and values.
It involves going through several phases of reflection, such as self-observation, (ability to observe myself objectively and dissociated to analyze me), the self-perception, (related to the self-concept I have of myself), self-acceptance (ability to accept myself as I am) and self-esteem, (ability to love and value myself as I am).
HOW TO TRAIN MY SELF-KNOWLEDGE?
Mindfulness
• Practice Mindfulness. It is a good technique to concentrate your attention on the present moment, here and now, and develop the ability to self-observation in a dissociated way.
A diary
• Keep a journal. At the end of the day, identify the three most positive and rewarding moments for you. What have you done right? To whom or why do you feel grateful? What beautiful moments have you lived in the day? What have you learned today? What have you noticed? What do you want to improve from tomorrow?
Strengths
• Write down your strengths(what you are good at, what your positive qualities are, those characteristics of your personality that help you face difficulties or achieve goals) and your weaknesses, (those aspects of your way of being that you do not have so developed or that harm you sometimes).
Observation
• I invite you to make an observation and analysis of yourself based on the research of Myers-Briggs, (authors, mother and daughter, and based on the proposals of Carl Gustav Jung
of his work “Psychological types”). It is a questionnaire that evaluates how people prefer to perceive the environment and make decisions. Establish 4 scales, as dichotomies, between two alternatives. My suggestion is to take it as an observation and analysis to identify preferences, to be able to understand yourself better and understand others, but not as something static or to put “labels”.
It is in our power to adapt our behavior when we want, although it is interesting to know our preferences and tendencies and those of others in order to improve the interaction with ourselves and with others.
Reflections on self-knowledge
I invite you to reflect on two of those scales in self-knowledge that they propose:
Attention
to. How they focus their attention or get their energy (extraversion or introversion). Introversion is characterized by concentration on the internal processes of the subject. Introverts are mainly interested in their thoughts and feelings, in their inner world. They tend to be deeply introspective.
Extroversion is characterized by the concentration of interest in an external object. Extroverts are interested in the outside world of people and things, tend to be more sociable and more aware of what is happening in their environment.
To give an example: on a day of a convention, with many meetings and social interaction with many people, at the end of the day an introverted person may be looking forward to arriving at the hotel, to be alone, disconnect and recharge batteries. In that same situation a person with a tendency to extraversion may feel more energized, and will be ready to continue interacting with people during dinner or an after party.
What is usually your preference? What attitude do you identify with the most? Once you have identified your preference, think of someone who for you shows clear signs of the other preference and reflect: What do you admire about that other way of acting? What do you think it brings? What are you realizing?
Decision making
b. How they prefer to make decisions (thought or feeling)). People who rely on thinking tend to be more rational, using logic, intellect, objective data and ideas more often in their decision making. People who rely on the feeling usually make decisions more based on emotions, mood or the affective impression that this situation or memory produces to them or others, they usually consider for decision making the emotional impact of the decision on them or others.
To give an example: To make a decision, do you usually prefer to rely on data, logical facts, be consistent, find the truth, be fair and make the decision with “head”? Or do you usually prefer to rely on what is best for the people involved, how it influences them, on being compassionate, being kind and making the decision with “heart”?
What is usually your preference? What attitude do you identify with the most? Once you have identified your preference, think of someone who for you shows clear signs of the other preference and reflect: What do you admire about that other way of acting? What do you think it brings? What are you realizing?
What motivates you, values and how you are
• Write down your passions and what motivates you in life. What are your dreams? What do you want to achieve in your life? What motivates you the most?
• Identify what your Values are, the principles that are most important to you in your life right now.
• Ask several people, from several different backgrounds, to make a description about you. The suggestion is that they are at least 3 or 4 people from varied environments, such as the family environment, the environment of friends and the professional or training environment.
And you, what would you like to comment or add about these reflections on self-knowledge?
