I appreciate the assertion that self-awareness is everything. I think that’s really true from the perspective that if you don’t have self-awareness, it’s very difficult to have accurate external awareness. But then having a strong quality of “field attention“ or outer awareness is very important too. I think of myself as being at the hub of a two-sided arrow, where I am tasked with becoming more skilled at objectively looking inside and outside at the same time to serve at my best. each one supports the other. But to your point, I think most of us are already more trained to put our attention on the external than the internal workings of our process, and so giving more attention to self-awareness is really appropriate. I also really liked the couple of stories that you told in this essay to illustrate your point. I find stories themselves to be very therapeutic. Thanks for sharing yours!
Thanks, Rick! 100% with you on the importance of having strong "field attention" or outer awareness. I love the arrow analogy of thinking of them as opposite sides that are inextricably linked.
You're right that we're conditioned to focus more on external validation through marketing and other societal influences, so it's important to understand our inner workings just as much.
Appreciate you sharing you enjoyed the stories as well. Always nice to know they landed the message clearly. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing your vulnerability with us, Alexandra. We need more courageous voices like yours in this space. Grateful to have read this today! (and always best of luck on your journey!)
Self-awareness,,,,,,that clicked with me but I don’t know why and have to figure that out.
Maybe I need to work on that lol
As for sharing things once hidden in dark closets, I am always ready to talk about my debilitating bouts of depression; actually,I only had three, but that was three too many and they lasted for several months. So, if I feel someone is having a problem with depression, I carefully and slowly work my problem into the conversation, and although some people just brush me off, some wants to share their feelings. Win,win for both of us.
Thanks, Mary Lou! I'm glad the bit on self-awareness struck a chord with you, even if you're still reflecting on why. Our most profound revelations often start with an intuitive nudge to dig into something deeper, even if we're not sure why.
Thank you for courageously sharing your experience with depression. That's incredible that you open up to others about it in order to give them space to open up about their struggles in return. So often people in pain are hesitant to vocalize it for fear or judgement, so having someone as kind as you extend a supportive hand by sharing your experience is guaranteed to help others immensely. Win-win, indeed.
I appreciate the assertion that self-awareness is everything. I think that’s really true from the perspective that if you don’t have self-awareness, it’s very difficult to have accurate external awareness. But then having a strong quality of “field attention“ or outer awareness is very important too. I think of myself as being at the hub of a two-sided arrow, where I am tasked with becoming more skilled at objectively looking inside and outside at the same time to serve at my best. each one supports the other. But to your point, I think most of us are already more trained to put our attention on the external than the internal workings of our process, and so giving more attention to self-awareness is really appropriate. I also really liked the couple of stories that you told in this essay to illustrate your point. I find stories themselves to be very therapeutic. Thanks for sharing yours!
Thanks, Rick! 100% with you on the importance of having strong "field attention" or outer awareness. I love the arrow analogy of thinking of them as opposite sides that are inextricably linked.
You're right that we're conditioned to focus more on external validation through marketing and other societal influences, so it's important to understand our inner workings just as much.
Appreciate you sharing you enjoyed the stories as well. Always nice to know they landed the message clearly. Thank you!
Thank you for sharing your vulnerability with us, Alexandra. We need more courageous voices like yours in this space. Grateful to have read this today! (and always best of luck on your journey!)
Thanks so much, Ashley! Hope all is well on your end. :)
That John Dewey quote is great. Need to remember that one! And congratulations on posting about your therapy journey!
Thank you, Sean!
Loved the earring analogy of delicate touch vs brute force. It takes many lessons for that one to sink in....
Thank you! Agreed.
Self-awareness,,,,,,that clicked with me but I don’t know why and have to figure that out.
Maybe I need to work on that lol
As for sharing things once hidden in dark closets, I am always ready to talk about my debilitating bouts of depression; actually,I only had three, but that was three too many and they lasted for several months. So, if I feel someone is having a problem with depression, I carefully and slowly work my problem into the conversation, and although some people just brush me off, some wants to share their feelings. Win,win for both of us.
Thanks, Mary Lou! I'm glad the bit on self-awareness struck a chord with you, even if you're still reflecting on why. Our most profound revelations often start with an intuitive nudge to dig into something deeper, even if we're not sure why.
Thank you for courageously sharing your experience with depression. That's incredible that you open up to others about it in order to give them space to open up about their struggles in return. So often people in pain are hesitant to vocalize it for fear or judgement, so having someone as kind as you extend a supportive hand by sharing your experience is guaranteed to help others immensely. Win-win, indeed.