Definition

Noun: 1. Conscious knowledge and understanding of one's own character, feelings, motives, and desires: The quality of being able to objectively observe and recognize one's own personality, emotional states, and the reasons behind one's actions.

Usage

Self-awareness is an abstract, uncountable noun. It describes a state of being or a personal quality. It is often discussed in contexts of psychology, personal development, leadership, and emotional intelligence. * It is commonly used with verbs like have, develop, increase, show, and lack. * It can be modified by adjectives like deep, high, low, emotional, and social.

Examples

• Developing self-awareness is a crucial step in emotional growth.
• A good leader possesses a high degree of self-awareness.
• His lack of self-awareness often leads to conflicts with his colleagues.
• Meditation can help increase your self-awareness.
• The therapy session focused on building greater self-awareness of her triggers.

Advanced Usage

• Emotional self-awareness: Specifically refers to the recognition of one's own emotions and their impact.
  • Emotional self-awareness is a key component of Daniel Goleman's model of emotional intelligence.
• Public self-awareness vs. Private self-awareness: A psychological distinction where refers to awareness of how one is perceived by others, and refers to awareness of one's internal state.
  • High public self-awareness can sometimes lead to social anxiety.

Variants and Related Words

• Self-aware (adjective): Having or showing self-awareness.
  • She is a very self-aware individual who understands her strengths and weaknesses.
• Self-conscious (adjective): Often implies a heightened, sometimes uncomfortable, awareness of oneself, especially in social situations. This is related but can have a more negative connotation than .
  • He felt self-conscious about his accent.

Synonyms

• Introspection: The examination of one's own thoughts and feelings. (More focused on the of looking inward).
• Self-knowledge: The understanding of one's own capabilities, character, and motivations. (Very close in meaning, often used interchangeably).
• Self-recognition: The identification of oneself; can be more basic than self-awareness.

Antonyms

• Self-ignorance: Lack of knowledge about oneself.
• Unconsciousness (in a psychological sense): Lack of awareness of one's own mental processes.

Noun

1. awareness of your own individuality