Whether you’re just beginning the path of self-awareness or you’re looking to deepen what you already know, here are some simple tips on living your most authentic, grounded self.
Notice your Thoughts
You know that voice that runs in your head all day? The one that narrates your life and interprets what’s going on around you? (*different than a mental health diagnosis). These are your thoughts and interpretations. As humans, we are a meaning-making species and our thought process allows us to make sense of what’s going on around us. For better or for worse. The imagination is a wonderful thing but when we get stuck in negative thought patterns or limiting, fear-based thinking, it’s time for those thoughts to change.
The great thing about our mind is that it is malleable and we can change our experience once we learn how to transform our thoughts. Just creating the awareness that we are NOT our thoughts gives us the power to create a mindset that we want. If you want to take a deeper dive into exploring the origins of your belief system, thought pattern recognition, and ways to identify with thoughts more aligned with your personal values, check out the “What Was I Thinking?” article.
Notice your Feelings
Ah, feelings. As someone who used to avoid her emotions, I have had a roller coaster of a journey with my relationship to feelings. Feelings or emotions are our internal cues to let us know, well, how we feel about something. Much like our thoughts, emotions can be a great source of inspiration and information but when they drive us into harmful or undesired reactions, it’s time to rework our relationship with them.
To start, familiarize yourself with the feeling wheel to increase your emotional vocabulary. Just start to label your feelings as you notice them. The trick here is to try and be as curious and nonjudgmental as possible. We all grew up with different cultures, experiences and messaging regarding feelings so creating a safe, healthy relationship with them can be challenging. Especially if you grew up in an environment where your feelings were shamed or not allowed.
Be gentle with yourself as you cultivate a healthy relationship with your feelings. For some of us, getting more comfortable with our emotions means confronting some hard truths, so make sure you have support in this journey.
Notice Body Sensations
Our body is the source of all information. From our nervous system, DNA, all the way down to our cells, our bodies are communicating with us non-stop. Having a mindfulness practice that’s centered on body sensations can greatly increase awareness of your sense of self. We hold stress and trauma in our bodies. The more in touch we get with our body sensations, the more able we are to release tension.
Some simple practices include focusing on the five senses, doing a slow, detailed body scan or simply noticing your breath go in and out of your nose. What’s important here is that we’re not attaching any judgement to what we’re experiencing, we’re just simply noticing. You can even say in your mind “feeling tightness in my stomach” or “feeling cool air on my cheek.” This will help you slow down and tune into the messages your body is sending to you.
Life is a journey and it’s all about progress, not perfection here! Self-compassion and grace will make the journey a lot smoother so be gentle and forgiving with yourself on your path.
Jackie O'Neil, LCSW 