Mindfulness And Self-Awareness: How Do They Differ?
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Today’s world is full of stress and factors that affect our mental health. Mental health in its turn affects all aspects of our life. Our physical and emotional well-being largely depends on our mental health.

Luckily, more and more people start to talk about the importance of mental health and practices that help improve it.

Mindfulness and self-awareness are two of the most commonly used terms in the context of mental well-being. But what exactly are mindfulness and self-awareness and how do they relate to each other?

What Is Mindfulness?

Mindfulness is the quality or ability to be fully conscious. It is when you are fully aware of your thoughts, feelings, your body, and the environment you are in.
Mindfulness is also a type of meditation. It refers to the practice of focusing on the present moment and sensing it.

One of the key principles of practicing mindfulness is that you should be non-judgmental of your thoughts. Mindfulness teaches you to focus on the present instead of dwelling on the past or thinking about the future.

You may find it hard to practice mindfulness due to stress and anxiety. Negative emotions and distractions may prevent you from becoming fully present. Take these as signs that you need to practice mindfulness.

Is Mindfulness The Same As Self-Awareness?

The terms mindfulness and self-awareness are often used side by side and even interchangeably. But mindfulness is not the same as self-awareness.

As noted above, mindfulness is the quality or state of being in the present moment. It also refers to the practice of becoming fully aware of our thoughts, emotions, and our surroundings.

And what is self-awareness? Self-awareness is the conscious knowledge of your own self. It is the ability to focus on your thoughts, emotions, traits, and feelings. And understand how they align with your internal standards.

Self-awareness is about knowing what emotional state you are in at the moment and understanding how it affects your thoughts and actions. Most importantly, self-awareness allows you to manage your emotions and control their effects.

Self-awareness and mindfulness are different states of mind. Self-awareness can be referred to as one of the foundations of mindfulness.

Mindfulness Vs Self-Awareness

Mindfulness and self-awareness are closely related. But they are not the same. What are the differences between mindfulness and self-awareness?

• Mindfulness is based on introspection, i.e. on one’s own thoughts and feelings. With mindfulness, we acknowledge what is going on in our internal world at that very moment. No matter what thoughts and feelings come to you at that moment, you should allow them to come and go.

• Self-awareness, on the other hand, teaches you to look inward while accepting the world around you. With self-awareness, you learn to inspect your negative thoughts and emotions, how they impact you, and what you should do to get rid of them.

• Mindfulness teaches you to take a non-judgmental approach. Self-awareness, on the other hand, impels you to be objective about yourself.

• As self-awareness helps you understand your emotions and negative thought patterns, it also allows you to manage your mood. Mindfulness may not be as helpful in doing this.

• Mindfulness impacts the way you think. With mindfulness, you learn that thoughts about the past or future are memories and ideas. While it makes you mindful of the past and the future, it teaches you to live in the present.

• Self-awareness impacts the way you live. With self-awareness, you learn to sync everything in your life with your inner standards.

Why Is Self-Awareness Important?

Self-awareness is knowing yourself and fully understanding your inner world. This is certainly a good thing. But is self-awareness really that central to the self-development of a person?

Nurturing self-awareness will have a positive impact on all aspects of your life, including interpersonal relationships, career, personal growth, etc.

Here are some of the reasons why it is important to develop self-awareness.

• It helps you regulate your emotions.
• Self-awareness helps you in decision-making.
• It allows you to improve your relationships with family, friends, co-workers, and everyone else in your life.
• Self-awareness boosts your confidence and helps you gain wisdom.
• It helps you improve your leadership and communication skills.
• Self-awareness makes you a better listener.

Developing Self-Awareness Through Mindfulness

One of the key benefits of practicing mindfulness is that it helps you enhance self-awareness. You can practice mindfulness meditations to help you become more self-aware.

Mindfulness helps you become more aware of what is going on around you and inside you. When you are present and fully aware of your own feeling and thoughts you are able to control them.

Self-awareness enhanced through mindfulness will help you in different life situations. Acknowledging your emotions and thoughts mindfully is the key to making the right decisions.

You may be having a bad day at work and think that you will never be able to build a successful career. This thought may take over you and make you feel stressed or anxious for a day or longer. It may affect your performance at work and ultimately your career.

But if you are self-aware, and know your traits and how you react to things, you will be able to quickly recover from this thought and understand that it was merely the result of your bad day. You can then objectively evaluate the situation and learn from it.