5 Life Practices To Develop High Self-Awareness
Everything is already present; you are not – The conditioned mind is trained to search and find what is missing, it always thinks from a lack perspective, and for that reason, most people don’t live in gratitude, fulfillment, and contentment with what they have, which brings them to live life always expecting for the next moment to be better. “We live in the illusion that there is something separating or is between us and our happiness. For some, it may be 10 pounds, a college degree, a raise, a promotion, a partner, a child, etc. If we constantly point out what’s ‘missing,’ it will somehow drive us to action to get it. Instead, we hold on to fear, anxiety, and self-criticism thinking it’s an indicator of how much we care if we’ll think about it long enough to influence the results. I would like to offer you that this kind of thinking is precisely what keeps you stuck. And that accepting what is with all that is missing will give you the power to enter a space where things come to you effortlessly.”
Your life is nothing but a perception – There is no one reality, only a perceived one: Everyone lives life thinking that whatever they experienced in the past or present moment is the ultimate truth. And wait, it doesn’t stop there. They also take all these experiences and life circumstances and use them to justify why they ended up being the way they did. Amit shared, “From my experience coaching and mentoring, I can tell you that everyone has a story that justifies why they are strict or lenient with their kids, why they can or cannot play sports, why they have this kind of relationship with their mother, etc. You get the gist. Everybody thinks that their story is special or that their circumstances are unique. They are not. They are interpretations and perceptions of all the events and experiences you collected up until now. Now, when you realize these are only stories, guess what you can do? Change them. So, if there’s a story that keeps you stuck in insecurity, anxiety, shyness, or whatever it is YOU feel is not working, tell yourself a different one. My favorite one is – that my stories don’t mean anything, but what I said they do. This realization will help you write a story that will leave you empowered.”
Say hello to Self Importance Syndrome (SIS) – Humility is vital in reaching high awareness towards self-discovery. “The process and journey of getting out of your head is a brave one. But, first, you need to acknowledge that you live in your head. And that where you are right now is 100% your responsibility. Even the things you are convinced are someone else’s ‘fault,’ I promise you; they are not. Like Earl Nightingale said – ‘We Are All Self Made, but Only the Successful Will Admit It.’ And it takes a brave and humble person to admit that things are not working. But if you brought yourself here, you could also take yourself somewhere else. When we are in our heads, ruminating about everything and everyone, we engage in self-centered thinking and behavior. Humility means understanding that we are not even a speck of dust in this existence and that life (as much as we think or would like to think) does not revolve around us. When growth and expansion take precedence over the self-centered ego, that’s when we can step out of our heads and into the present moment where life happens.”
Think less, do less, be more – Another misconception people live in is that doing more translates to success or progress. Everyone idolizes and rewards the ‘no zero days’ mentality. “As if doing things with a lot of effort and often stress will be rewarded with the result we are aiming for, after all, if we all agree on it, doesn’t that make it so? There is a very consistent and counterintuitive messaging in all philosophies I practice, and it has different names such as – Wu Wei, effortless doing, or non-doing. Its basics offer a new way of being and thinking that is receiving rather than chasing. It is a process of letting go, removing resistance, listening to what’s calling, and following effortlessly. Follow with trust that whatever it is you are looking for is looking for you. Pay attention – effortless does not make equal passive or lazy. It is counterintuitive because we are taught to believe that we need to consider everything before doing anything, plan, and work hard for what we want. The philosophy of non-doing shows us that there’s a way to get all that you wish to, with little to no effort at all.”
Don’t react, create – “This is the secret to life as I see it—a life of intention and purpose. When I say purpose, I don’t mean a life purpose, but I literally mean living life ON purpose. Not an accidental life where you are a reaction to what’s happening around you. We are automatically reactionary in all our communications; we don’t stop to think about what we would like to create in our lives and with others. Instead, we react when triggered by others or by world events outside of our control. When living this way, joy and peace become something that is no longer dependent on us but on what is happening around us; it is not a reliable and available resource for you to live peacefully. We may not control our bosses, children, spouses, parents, or political climate, but we control how we act and communicate with ourselves and others. So, if you want to have an interesting conversation on a first date, create it. If you want more love, give it, be it. If you want connection and unity, ask yourself how someone who is committed to love and unity would act right now? If you think things should be different, I dare you to first drop the notion that things shouldn’t happen the way they do or did and then act from that place. It is a whole new territory, a different ballgame.”
To sum all stress and anxiety into one simple cause, it would be this – “Living in our heads, constant rumination about what happened in the past or what may happen in the future, when all we have is this present moment, nothing else.” It is a simple idea yet “hard to wrap our heads around” and even harder to implement. Life will catch everyone off guard, and without paying attention, they are on fully automatic mode, again. Like every other exercise, being present is meant to be practiced, and the best thing is that everybody can do it anywhere and with anyone. The brain muscle, when well trained, will alter people’s reality in their favor. “But, don’t believe me, try it yourself.”
