Self-knowledge: definition and 8 tips to improve it

When we ask ourselves "who I am?”And it is not clear to us, it is relatively common to feel discomfort linked to uncertainty and the feeling that our lives do not have a backbone. In these cases we can be immersed in a existential crisis, because knowing yourself is a way of being realistic, a way of keeping your feet on the ground, to know where we want to go and to connect with ourselves.

Self-knowledge is one of the keys to personal development And, at the same time, it is one of the basic principles to be able to regulate emotions, relate to others and fight for our goals.

In this article we are going to delve into this concept and review a series of tips to improve self-knowledge, that is, learn to know yourself better.

The relationship between self-knowledge and emotional well-being

Self-knowledge is key to the psychological well-being of people, since those who know themselves best they know what they want in life, not only in the big projects but in the everyday things of life. And the thing is that people who know each other well know how to better manage their emotions even in times of greatest difficulty. The world around them can destabilize, but not their inner world.

In fact, one of the concepts of Psychology that has had the greatest impact in recent decades is the Emotional intelligence, and self-knowledge is the starting point to become an emotionally intelligent person. Knowing your own emotions and knowing what they mean for us is closely related to self-reflection and improving mental health.

• Related article: "Personal Development: 5 reasons for self-reflection”

Finding yourself is the key to happiness

Self-knowledge is also key in personal development, because helps us set realistic goals and it allows us to know where we are in our life trajectory. It helps us to plan because it also allows us to know the movements and actions that we must do to get where we want. That is why personal development experts help their clients connect with themselves and discover what motivates them and what their wishes are for greater happiness.

Self-knowledge is also key in the development of people, and is essential in some stages of life, because if we do not know who we are, confusion does not allow us to see the future clearly. Improving self-knowledge is the starting point to improve our general well-being.

• You may be interested: "How to control emotions, with 11 effective strategies"

Actions to improve self-knowledge

Then, What can be done to improve self-awareness? In the following lines I leave you some tips so that you can discover yourself if you still do not know yourself.

1. Write a diary

Writing in a journal can help us get to know ourselves. It is good because it makes us think about what we have done during the day, and it can help us understand how we have felt. But, also, if we reread what we are writing, it can give us feedback on how we are.

There is a type of journal called "emotional journal", which is designed precisely to improve self-knowledge of our emotions.

This type of journal consists of writing how we have felt throughout the day, that is, not only is we writing what has happened to us, but it is necessary to reflect on our feelings. feelings and emotions. To carry out, you can do it for 10 minutes just before going to bed. It is not a long time, and it can make you more emotionally aware.

2. Write down your strengths and weaknesses

It might seem that we all know each other, but in reality, there are many people who have never reflected on his strengths and weaknesses. In fact, there are people who go to a job interview and when the recruiter asks them to describe themselves or to highlight their strengths or weaknesses, they are left blank.

To avoid this and get to know yourself better, you can go by listing your strengths and weaknesses, as it will make you think about who you are and the qualities you possess. This can also be useful when looking for work or deciding what studies you should take. On the other hand, keep in mind that there is no objective way to do this task well, just yours, so do not get obsessed: the best judge on this subject is yourself.

3. Write down your passions

When choosing a job or what you want to study, it is also interesting that you value what your hobbies and passions are, that is, what activities or jobs make you feel in "flow statusWhen you practice them. Knowing our passions can help us improve our self-motivation and our happiness.

4. Make the wheel of life

A well-known dynamic to improve self-knowledge is what is known as "the wheel of life." It is a personal development technique that consists of making a circle and choose 10 areas of your life that you want to change or improve. The wheel of life invites you to reflect on the different aspects that are part of your life: your friends, family, work, leisure, etc.

It also makes you reflect on your priorities, since once you have chosen the points of your life that you consider fundamental, you must assign them a number based on the order of preference for you. Then you can start writing down the actions you will take to transform your life. This allows you to know your present but also to know what future you want.

• Related article: "8 activities to work on emotions"

5. Ask someone for a description of you

Many times we think that we see ourselves the same as others see us and that is not always the case. Sometimes others see us differently and it can shock us. Therefore, to improve our self-knowledge, we can ask our friends to describe how they see us. So we can make us a more realistic image of what we project.

6. Attend an Emotional Intelligence workshop

Emotional Intelligence, as I have already said, is one of the most important paradigms in psychology in recent times, and the management of emotions is important not only for people's mental hygiene, but also to intervene on performance and success in lifetime.

That is why, to improve self-knowledge, a good idea is to attend an Intelligence course or workshop. Emotional that provides you with a series of tools to know yourself better and relate better to your own emotions.

• There are many Emotional Intelligence workshops. You can find some in this article: "The 6 best courses in Emotional Intelligence and Personal Development”.

7. Practice Mindfulness

Another practice that improves emotional management is Mindfulness or Full Attention, which consists of improve self-awareness and attention span and allows you to learn to be in the present with a non-judgmental, accepting, compassionate and open-minded mindset.

• Scientific research confirms that this practice improves self-knowledge as we have in this article: "Mindfulness: 8 benefits of mindfulness”

8. Opt for coaching

Coaching has also been shown to be effective in improving self-knowledge, better planning the goals we want to pursue and empowering ourselves in life. with a more realistic and adaptive vision. Therefore, to improve self-knowledge, it is possible to hire the services of a psychologist specialized in this field to accompany you in the process of personal discovery. Like Mindfulness, coaching also has a number of benefits for wellness and personal growth.

• Related article: "The 10 benefits of Coaching (keys to your personal development)”