People nowadays have a tendency to feel pressured to love themselves because of the sentiment: “At the end of the day, you’re all you’ve got.” After all, “You can’t love others without first loving yourself,” right? If that’s the case, then why does there seem to be less love in the world now than when self-love wasn’t as widespread? Whether or not we would like to admit it, this is due to the fact that people may have an innate lack of self-awareness. Self-awareness is crucial because it allows us to face reality and accept that we’ll never be perfect no matter how much we try, and maybe that’s okay.
Unlike self-love, self-awareness is an introspective approach that serves as a true assessment of who we are. It is humbling ourselves to be able to see past our egos, allowing us to own up to our mistakes. Because the truth is, praising ourselves solely for our good traits and disregarding our flaws as something that’s “just the way we are” leaves no room for growth.
Rationalizing toxic behavior is among many of the unhealthy things we do due to our supposed love for ourselves. However, saying things like “I can’t help who I am” is detrimental to our ability to accept the continual need for change and adaptability in life. On the other hand, self-awareness encourages us to have the courage to take the necessary steps to be better versions of ourselves.
Having self-awareness also promotes emotional maturity. By being mature enough to distinguish the difference between what we want to hear and what we need to hear, we can be honest with ourselves about what actions we need to take next. With this being said, decision-making won’t be as much of an obstacle as it used to be.
In spite of all the benefits that self-awareness can bring about, numerous people still do not practice it. This is because, in order to achieve actual self-awareness, we need to be vulnerable with ourselves about our real character. And, for most of us, it’s easier said than done. Admittedly, it’s challenging to sit down and tell ourselves that we’ll never reach our version of perfection no matter what we do. No one likes feeling inadequate. Most of us would rather tell ourselves that we’re perfect just the way we are and that we don’t need to change for anybody. While this is true to an extent, no one is flawless and without blame.
Despite not being able to realistically achieve our hopes of being this idealized version of ourselves, we can still work towards being the best that we can be. Being self-aware members of society will create a healthier environment where every single one of us is allowed to make mistakes without having to feel ashamed for it. In the end, we’re all imperfect and flawed; this will never change. What we can change is our attitude towards our lack of perfection.
This article is a good read. It is self-awareness that should be the driving force for maturing. We cannot change others; we can only change ourselves to become the better version of ourselves.