Your Thoughts ARE Showing; Developing Self-Awareness
Think about all the people you encounter every day; in your work, school, church, gym or grocery store. Everyone you encounter is impacted by your self-awareness, as you are impacted by theirs.
Are Your Thoughts Showing?
Think about your boss or colleagues. Can you tell when they’re having a “bad” day? They may think they’re concealing it well, but you know when something is bothering them. You can see it in their body language, the look on their face, you can hear it in their voice – whether they are patient, silent or short-tempered. Now consider that you’re having a “bad” day, like you lost a big customer, and then your family or roommate comes home. You’re upset and frustrated, but you try to hide it. Do you think they notice? How well does that work for you?
A “bad” day is something we can all relate to. We’ve all been there and know how it feels. We also know that in the moment, we’re often not ourselves. We may behave differently than “normal”. Now, let’s take it a step further. Imagine you’re having a “bad” day, thinking “bad” thoughts, and perhaps not behaving your best. Now imagine that you have a video monitor floating above your head, showing everyone how you’re feeling and what you’re thinking. While you may not recognize it, much like the video monitor, others can see what we’re thinking through our body language, behaviors, and tone of our voice.
What Do Your Thoughts Say?
We may get annoyed each time our boss tells us what to do, because we think we deserve to be treated better. Interacting with new people may be challenging, we can’t get out of our comfort zone, even though our success may depend on it. Perhaps we don’t feel worthy, afraid someone is going to find out that we don’t really belong here. Some version of these kinds of thoughts are going on in ALL of our heads ALL the time. What we may not realize, is that what we’re thinking and feeling SHOWS!
Your thoughts show through your behaviors and actions. They show when you interrupt people in mid-sentence, or you only answer half of their question. Your thoughts show when you’re the person who has the most to say at the meeting, or when you don’t participate at all in a meeting. They also show when you make eye contact and ask good questions, or when you look at someone with disdain if they interrupt you while you’re busy working on an important project. Whether you believe it or not, your colleagues, friends and family do know what you’re thinking, even when you don’t think they do.
What are your thoughts saying about you?
Learn more about developing your self-awareness by clicking the links below.
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Kristin Clark, a Leadership Development Coach and her father, Harvey Schoof, co-founder of Axiogenics, a Leadership Development company, partner to create a blueprint for Living a Richer Life; It’s All in Your Head!
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