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Practice makes permanent : An Outside idea from Ali Sinclair
As a Worklife Empowerment Coach, I am passionate about helping people improve their work lives. This doesn’t necessarily mean they need to change jobs or companies, most often any changes a client is seeking usually start with creating the space to build self-awareness.
In a series of recent studies conducted by organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich she found that 95% of people think they’re self-aware, but only 10-15% truly are.
Tasha cites three reasons for this disconnect.
“First, we naturally have blind spots. We’re wired to operate on autopilot, unaware of how we’re behaving, and why. There’s also the feel-good effect: we’re happier when we see ourselves in a more positive light. She calls the last factor the “cult of self,” the idea that we’ve become more self-absorbed as social media has exploded in popularity.”
“By cultivating self-awareness—knowing who we are and how others see us—we can build a strong foundation for high performance, smart choices, and lasting relationships.”
There are many barriers to self-awareness, some of our own making and some the result of our wiring. One of the barriers to self-awareness is rushing through every day the majority of the time on autopilot. Whilst autopilot has a purpose it can get in the way of us making more conscious and intentional decisions that are in alignment with who we are and what we truly want.
One of my favourite approaches to getting out of autopilot to create space for self-awareness is through a practice of what I call pause and presence.
There are a few ways I’ve found to practice this. Most recently, I am enjoying taking photos of flowers on my walks. Sometimes the photos can be a bit blurry, but I’m not so fussed about it. What matters is that with the act of bending down, getting in close, really studying the flower and taking each picture, I gain in the moment a focused pause with presence for myself. It’s in this space I that I most often get answers I’m seeking.
To read more about my practice and see some of the photos I’ve recently taken you can check out my LinkedIn post here: Pause and Presence
There are many ways and tools out there to help us build self-awareness, but for me it has and always will be about finding and forging our own paths. When it’s something we have created, chosen, invested in and connected with, in my experience we are more likely to keep practicing an action to make it habit.
Practice makes permanent 🙂
Ali Sinclair
Live Your Truth Coaching
