How to Become Self-Aware

Shafeeka Hafeez
6 min readOct 23, 2019

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You Already Are

We exist in a body that cannot quite see itself.

Except for a few occasional mirror reflections and selfies, we don’t really know how we look throughout the day.

Yet we spend an inordinate amount of time on our looks, trying to please everyone else, through a body we cannot see.

Is that how you want to spend the rest of your life? Trying to please others without really knowing who you are?

You don’t want to, but in the absence of self awareness, that’s exactly what most people end up doing.

We are wired to be truly happy with our true selves.

We, after all, spend all our lives with ourselves.

Mostly because — well, it’s not like we have a choice anyway. We are trapped with a voice that never seems to shut up, inside our very own head.

But imagine being locked up in a confined space with someone — all your life? What are the chances of you not noticing them? Every wrinkle on their face? Every smile? What are the chances of you not knowing what triggers them and pump them up? Slim. Likely, zero.

You simply can’t not know the person you spend every wakening moment with.

Which is why I think you already know yourself. You’re already self aware. You just don’t know it yet — and therein lies the difference.

The Ins and Outs

Let me throw in the bitter pill first.

The entire process of knowing yourself is an uphill struggle. Accepting who you are and what you are good at is going to cause a turbulence in your mind. You might even have to step on your ego and pride to accept that you suck at leading a team, playing football, or riding a bike. Humility is hard.

On a scale from 1–10, with 10 being the hardest, I’d say it’s a 100. You’d fail half of the time. It’s far from easy.

Now, the magic pill.

If you’re willing to scale it, learn who you are, and avoid being misunderstood by your own self, then you are going to glow. You are going to learn to love and appreciate yourself and become happier than you’ve ever been.

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Shafeeka Hafeez

I write about startups building a more sustainable world | #SolveDifferent