[00:00] Welcome back to the Focus B show. This is Katie Sudddhart here, aka the Focus B, and on this show, I interview high performers and leaders around the world to discover their secrets on peak performance, productivity, mindfulness and leadership. So if you want to take your performance and your leadership to the next level, then you're in the right place. Listen up and connect with the magic.

[00:36] All change and transformation begins with self awareness. Without self awareness, you're not able to better understand yourself, to know your triggers. But also the other aspect of self awareness is knowing your direction, your purpose, your values. And if you don't have clarity on both how you function in terms of your thought patterns and your triggers, but also in terms of your purpose, your direction, your values, then you're not able to create the transformation and change that you wish for in your life. Now, on the other hand, if you do have this self awareness, you will both be able to know what is your direction, where do you actually want to go, what's important for you, and you'll be able to understand your emotions, your thought patterns, what triggers you. And this will help you to build the progress, to take the steps that you need to in order to reach your goals and objectives. How can you increase self awareness? There are several key practices that I will share here that can really help you to tune in to both what's important for you and what's holding you back, and to understand how you function. The first tool is meditation. Through meditation, you're able to see your thoughts with more detachment. You're able to ground yourself, be less impulsive, and master your emotion throughout the day. I've spoken several times on different episodes about the importance of meditation because it really is one of the fundamental pillars of so many different aspects of our lives, including self awareness. The second tool is journaling, because when you journal, you're opening up to a blank page to someone that will receive all of your information, all of your comments, all of your ideas without judgment. This makes it a very freeing space where you're able to express anything that's troubling you, anything that's on your mind, maybe something that upset you during the day, but also to reflect a little deeper on what is meaningful for you. Journaling is extremely powerful and I highly recommend it at different moments during the day. Maybe you can start your day with journaling, like the morning pages of The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron, or you can use it at the end of the day to reflect on how your day has proceeded. Another interesting tool that's maybe the third tool to discuss here is working with a coach. When you work with a coach, sometimes a therapist, they can serve as a mirror and they will help you to understand what is getting in your way. What are some of the patterns that you are repeating unconsciously that you're not aware of. And through this greater awareness you'll be able once more to put the necessarily work into place, to change and shift things in your life and to create the transformation that you're longing for. A tool that you perhaps haven't thought of, and maybe you haven't heard of it, is the Enneagram. The Enneagram is our personality type. There are nine key personality types and these are all explained in the model of the Enneagram. I love the Enneagram, I'm trained and certified in it and this is a fantastic tool to raise your self awareness. I highly recommend either checking out some episodes on this podcast on the Enneagram or just looking it up or reading about it, because it can really help you to see what are some of your automatic thought patterns. What? Is your core desire, your core fear and to raise this greater awareness as to how you function, what's your default mode of reacting or responding to situations and to choose whether you want to go with this automatic response that comes from your personality type or whether you want to act in a different way, respond in a different way. Once you're able to know and understand your Enneagram type, your personality type, this will really shed the light on so many things that you are doing in your life and it will help you to shift, but also to understand others and really to just have this inner deep transformation. A great part of the Enneagram work is to see our personality for what it is and to detach from it so that we're not absorbed in our personality because our personality is ego driven whereas our deeper soul and spirit and whatever you choose to call it doesn't have a personality and is at peace. And behind this sort of mirror of the personality. So these are some of the fundamental tools meditation, journaling, working with a coach and looking at your Enneagram and your personality type to see the default. But there's also other ways in which you can raise your self awareness and notice a lot more how you function. This could be, for instance, throughout the day to pause every time you have a strong external reaction to something. If you feel triggered or upset or annoyed, pause on that moment because this is a clue as to what you value, as to maybe something that was traumatic for you in the past and therefore by someone saying a certain word or acting in a certain way, it provokes you. All of these strong emotional reactions are clues as to what is inside of you, what is directing your attention and your behavior. So the more you start to pay attention to these strong impulses, these strong reactions, things that upset you, things that bother you, the more you will start to notice patterns. For instance, you'll pick up on the fact that you have similar behaviors in similar circumstances and you think, oh, this is interesting. Every time I'm planning something, I feel stressed. Planning stress, what happens here? And then you can dive a bit deeper. Or every time that you stepping out of your comfort zone, you react in this way and then you can go a bit deeper. It will also help you to see where you have room for growth. What are some of the areas that you are stuck in? For instance, I used to be highly impatient and every time my impatience would show up, I would notice it again. This is self awareness and this would be a reminder for me, oh, impatience is showing up again. Let me breathe. Learn to be more patient and grounded and move on. So all of these small moments and instances can help you to once more better understand yourself, but also to change your autopilot response. Because you all have different triggers, different things that make you react in a specific way every single time. Every single time that someone says this word or someone does this or this happens, you get annoyed or you get upset or you get angry. And this doesn't have to be the case. But for you to make that change, as I was saying, you need to have that self awareness. You need to know and notice and observe and see how you respond after these words or circumstances or whatever it is, so that then you're able to pause and think, wait a minute, I don't want to snap at someone just because they're late. Breathe and act and respond with kindness. Those are just basic examples. You'll need to observe for yourself. What are these circumstances? So self awareness is really a muscle that you can grow and develop. You can have this greater understanding of yourself, of your emotions, of your thought patterns, and this also leads to greater acceptance. Acceptance isn't complacency. It doesn't mean being complacent and just accepting flaws or just this is who I am, but more understanding, oh, this is where it comes from. How can I change this? How can I shift this? And then acting in a way that makes sense and is aligned with your values and not just the autopilot and auto default response of your personality. As I said, this is something that takes practice and that grows with time. And the greater self awareness you have, the greater transformation, but also the greater awareness you'll have of people around you and how they respond to your words or circumstances. And you'll be able to remain calm and grounded in all circumstances because you won't be fluctuating as quickly and rapidly as impulsively. This is where meditation also helps you to center and ground yourself. Hope this is useful for you. I hope that it helps you to increase this self awareness because it really is one of the most fundamental tools for any transformation in your life. It isn't just a tool. It's a pillar for it. Without it, there is no transformation. All begins with this self awareness. Thank you so much for tuning in today. Wishing you a wonderful, marvellous day ahead.

[10:49] Thank you so much for tuning in today to the Focus Bees show. I would absolutely love to hear your feedback, so let me know in an Apple review or YouTube comment what was most valuable for you, and feel free to share this episode with a friend or a family member. Wishing you a wonderful, magical and focused day ahead. Sam.