What Is Self-Awareness?

Self-awareness is the ability to see yourself clearly—to recognize your emotions as they happen, understand your patterns, know your strengths and weaknesses, and perceive how others experience you. It sounds simple. It's remarkably rare.

Research from organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich, published in the Harvard Business Review, found that while 95% of people think they're self-aware, only about 10-15% actually are.

Two Types of Self-Awareness

Internal Self-Awareness

Understanding your own emotions, values, passions, reactions, and impact on others. This is knowing yourself from the inside out—recognizing what you feel, why you feel it, and what drives your behavior.

External Self-Awareness

Understanding how others perceive you. This is seeing yourself from the outside in—knowing how you come across, how your behavior affects others, and whether your self-perception matches others' experience of you.

Interestingly, these two types don't always correlate. You can be deeply introspective but blind to how others see you. Or you can be skilled at reading your impact but disconnected from your inner experience.

Why Self-Awareness Matters

According to the American Psychological Association, self-awareness is foundational to:

• Emotional regulation: You can't manage what you don't recognize
• Better decisions: Understanding your biases improves judgment
• Stronger relationships: Knowing your patterns helps you change them
• Effective leadership: Leaders who know themselves lead better
• Personal growth: Change requires knowing what to change

"I know I overreact when I feel criticized. I know I shut down when overwhelmed. But knowing the pattern doesn't stop it." This gap between awareness and action is real—but closing it starts with awareness.

Developing Self-Awareness

1. Take Quality Assessments

Comprehensive assessments provide objective data about your patterns—often revealing blind spots you couldn't see on your own.

2. Seek Honest Feedback

Ask trusted people how they experience you. Their perspective reveals your external self-awareness gaps.

3. Notice Your Triggers

Pay attention to what situations activate strong emotional responses. Your triggers reveal your wounds and patterns.

4. Reflect, Don't Ruminate

Productive self-reflection asks "What?" not "Why?" Instead of "Why did I do that?" ask "What triggered me? What did I feel? What will I do differently?"

5. Work with a Coach or Therapist

A skilled outside observer can see patterns invisible to you and provide feedback you won't get elsewhere.