I recently had some awareness during a recent conversation about the difference between knowledge of self and self-awareness. I have noticed that when we speak of knowledge of self, there is a lot of cultural heritage and/or history involved. As opposed to self awareness where you take note of your responses to situations, your personal patterns and behaviors. Both allow you to get to know you and there is still a difference.
Self-awareness can operate on many levels. There is the concept of self value which is how you see and hold yourself within yourself. There is self esteem which is how you see and hold yourself in the face of others. Finally, there is also self worth which is what you believe you deserve based on the value you place on yourself and the value you are to others. Self-awareness helps us move through all of these levels.
Self esteem always seems to be analyzed because we are an external focused society. I hear the word consistently in conversations regarding younger generations. Perhaps we should be focused on how we impart both knowledge of self and increase self-awareness. The more you know about yourself, the better you are at making the best decisions for yourself. The better you are about adjusting to new and sometimes unexpected circumstances.
With the recent release of the film about NWA, Straight Outta Compton, this all remains me of that Ice Cube song, Check yo self. How can we check ourselves before we wreck ourselves without self awareness. The self knowledge and introspection need to be there. The popular philosopher, Socrates stated over and over again to know thyself. As one of his most famous quotes goes, "The unexamined life is not worth living."
Great post as always Clarissa! I think its an important distinction that we often neglect to examine ourselves and how we ripple across the world. There is a quote from Alexander Pope: "The proper study of Mankind is Man.". I think a time will come that self-awareness will grow from individuals, communities and cities to change nations. In David Logan's TED Talk(http://www.ted.com/talks/david_logan_on_tribal_leadership?language=en) he mentions the power of groups to become aware of themselves as an entity. He uses the metaphor of tribes to explain awareness in groups and borrows from the same vein of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I thought a good quote from his talk was "As people see the world, so they behave". Thanks for sharing!
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