Importance of Self-awareness

Introduction
We usually identify our existence with our position in society, our friends
and family, the needs and desires of our body, and the emotional and
intellectual expressions of our mind. For example: We might say ‘I am a
student studying economics, I have three sisters and live in London’. We
rarely take the time to contemplate the real nature of our existence; to
ask the question, "Who am I?"
Self awareness is about learning to better understand why you feel what
you feel and why you behave in a particular way. Once you begin to
understand this concept you then have the opportunity and freedom to
change things about yourself enabling you to create a life that you want.
It’s almost impossible to change and become self-accepting if you are
unsure as to who you are. Having clarity about who you are and what
you want can be empowering, giving you the confidence to make
changes.
Self awareness is important because when we have a better
understanding of ourselves, we are able to experience ourselves as
unique and separate individuals. We are then empowered to make
changes and to build on our areas of strength as well as identify areas
where we would like to make improvements. Self-awareness is often a
first step to goal setting. Self-awareness is being conscious of what
you're good at while acknowledging what you still have yet to learn. This
includes admitting when you don't have the answer and owning up to
mistakes.
In our highly competitive culture, this can seem counterintuitive. In fact,
many of us operate on the belief that we must appear as though we
know everything all the time or else people will question our abilities, and
then perhaps judge us. If you're honest with yourself, you'll admit that
really the opposite is true. Because whether you acknowledge your
weaknesses or not, everyone still sees them. So rather than conceal
them, the person who tries to hide weaknesses actually highlights them,
creating the perception of a lack of integrity and self-awareness.
Importance of self concept
A self-concept is an understanding you have of yourself that’s
based on your personal experiences, body image, the thoughts you
have about yourself, and how you tend to label yourself in different
situations.

A self-concept can also be defined as an all-encompassing awareness

you had of yourself in the past; the awareness you have of yourself in
the present, and the expectations you have of yourself at a future time.

Your self-concept is built upon perception — how you perceive yourself

based on the knowledge you have gained over a lifetime of experience.
This perception you have of yourself is based on the information you
have gathered about your values, life roles, goals, skills, abilities and
much more.

A healthy and strong self-concept will help you to get ahead in life. It will
allow you to maximize your potential and get the most out of your
strengths, talents and abilities. On the other hand, a weak self-concept
will hinder your progress. In fact, a weak self-concept will most likely
lead to self-sabotage behavior. As a result you will struggle to follow
through with your actions and thereby fail to achieve the goals and
objectives you have set for yourself.

The importance of having a healthy self-concept becomes more evident

when you come to understand that it influences your ability to manage
your emotions; it determines how far you will step outside your comfort
zone to solve a problem or achieve a goal; it influences how you utilize
your physiology; it impacts the questions you ask on a daily basis; and it
affects how you interact with people, how you think about yourself,
others and circumstances. Putting all this together, your self-concept
effectively determines what you will attempt or avoid doing at any
moment in time. It therefore influences your inherent potential to do, be,
have and achieve your desired objectives.
Development of Social self

Mead believed that the self was created through social interaction
and that this process started in childhood, with children beginning to
develop a sense of self at about the same time that they began to
learn the language.

Mead argued that one of the key developments was the ability to
think of ourselves as separate and distinct and to see ourselves in
relationship to others.

When children can take the persective of the generalized

other,rather than specific individuals.
Important realities of human persons.
1.The self-image.Self image refers to a person’s understanding of
himself/herself. It is responsible in influencing people’s way of living. The
formation of self-image is derived from two sources: others and the
experiences of the self. There are three kinds of self image as follows:

a. Negative self-image-delves on limitations and differences rather than assets.

b. Overrated self-image-stresses on the positive traits.

c. Realistic self-image-based on the real self.

2. The others-these are the referred persons or groups considered important

and given the right to influence one’s self.

3. The Being-It is the mainspring or a motivating force in the human person. It

is also referred as the wellspring, a foundationhead of one’s identity, one’s
essential course of action, and one’s essential bonds. There are seven
approaches to get in touch with the Being:

•Approach by way of the self-image

•Approach by way of important choices

•Approach by way of action

•Approach by way of what is natural and stressless

•Approach by way of people who had the greatest impact on you

•Approach to self through severe trials

•Approach by way of deep and not yet fulfilled aspirations

4. The “I”-The “I” has three different aspects. These are intellect, the freedom,
and the wall.

5. The Sensibility and the body-These are the important realities of the human
person.
Ten Commandments of human relations
1.Speak to people

There is nothing as nice as cheerful word of greeting.

2.Smile at people

It takes 65 muscles to frown and only 15 muscles to smile.

3.Call people by name

The sweetest music to anyone’s ear is the sound of his/her own name.

4.Be friendly and helpful

Add more friend,be friendly.

5.Be cordial

Speak and act as if everything you do were a genuine pleasure.

6.Be genuinely interested in people

You can like everybody if you try.

7.Be generous with praise

Take caution in criticizing.

8.Be considerate with the feelings of others

It will be appreciated.

9.Be thoughtful of the opinion of others.

There are three sides of controversy-yours, the other fellow’s, the right
one

10.Be alert to give service

What counts most to life is what we do for others.

Importance of values and basic core values

Our values are important because they help us to grow and develop. They help
us to create the future we want to experience.

Every individual and every organisation is involved in making hundreds of

decisions every day. The decisions we make are a reflection of our values and
beliefs, and they are always directed towards a specific purpose. That purpose
is the satisfaction of our individual or collective (organisational) needs.

For humans, some things have always been more important than others. That
is why we value people, ideas, activities and objects according to their
significance in our life.

However, the criteria used to give value to those elements have varied
throughout history, and depend on the values each person assumes.

Values allow the members of an organization to interact harmoniously. Values

affect their formation and development as individuals, and make it easier to
reach goals that would be impossible to achieve individually.

For the well-being of a community, it is necessary to have shared rules that

guide the behavior of its members, otherwise the community will not function
satisfactorily for the majority.

When families, schools, companies, and society in general function poorly,

many times it is due to a lack of shared values, which is reflected in a lack of
consistency between what is said and what is done.

For example, it is difficult to teach our children “tolerance” if our leaders and
rulers constantly insult those with whom they disagree.
Basic core values

1. The Value of Being:

•Honesty

It should be practiced with other individuals,with

institutions, with society, and with the self.

•Courage

This means daring to attempt difficult things that are

good.It is the strength not to follow the crowd, to say no and
mean it and influence others by it.

•Peaceability

This means calmness,peacefulness, and serenity. It is the

tendency to accommodate rather than argue.

•Self-Reliance and Potential

This means individuality, awareness and development. It

means taking responsibility for one’s own actions.

•Self-Discipline and Moderation

This refers to physical, mental and financial self-discipline.

It involves moderation in speaking, in eating and in exercising.

•Fidelity and Chastity

This refers to the values and security of fidelity within

marriage and of restraint limits before marriage.

2. The Values of Giving:

•Loyalty and Dependability

 This refers to family, employers, to country, to church,
schools, and to other organizations.

•Respect

This means respect for life, for property, for parents, for
nature, and for the beliefs and rights of others.

•Love

It means individual and personal caring that goes beneath

and beyond loyalty and respect.

•Unselfishness and Sensitivity

This means becoming more extra-centered and less self-

centered.

•Kindness and Friendship

This refers to awareness that being kind and considerate

is more admirable than being tough and strong.

•Justice and Mercy

This refers to obedience to law, fairness in work and play.

 Values Education
Values education are long-term standards that help a person determine
how they should approach a situation or person, which makes it an
important component of determining how the future culture interacts and
acts. Providing an education on values at a young age can ensure that
they are guided by these principles throughout life

Even though the world changes rapidly, the values that students need to
develop are actually not really much different to those that were taught in
bygone generations. It is just the application of those values in education
that has changed.

Showing respect to others, for instance, or caring for the environment

are just as important as they ever were – and maybe even more so – but
they are now applicable in a variety of new ways. For example:

 Teaching students to be respectful of others can now be applied to

their behavior online as well as off-line. Students should
understand the importance of acting responsibly and respectfully
when using forums, social media, or mobile devices.
 Similarly, good citizenship can now be equally applied to practicing
good digital citizenship, whereby students learn to avoid the
misuse of information or to acknowledge and respect others’ right
to peace and privacy.
 Showing tolerance and understanding to those less fortunate. The
escalating refugee crises is challenging both communities
and schools to integrate people in a respectful and sustainable
way. School is the ideal place to start teaching the correct values
towards refugees and develop understanding of different cultures
around the world.