Our autumn issue is out now. Regular contributor Margot Tubbiolo shares what awareness means to her. Dive on in to find out more…
Feelings Beyond The Mind
Looking Deeper…
by Margot Tubbiolo
Self-awareness… is looking deeper into our own actions to improve those choices.
Awareness, I believe, is knowing the reason why we do certain things – the reason behind our choices. We place so much emphasis on where we are in life, the tangible evidence of our success – yet we don’t recognise the pattern of our behaviour that has led us there. The same is true for our failures. We make the same choices time and time again, expecting to get different results. This presents itself as a form of self-sabotage.
We might believe we deserve the life we lead, even if that isn’t our divine path, so we keep walking down a road that brings us to a cul-de-sac. Being conscious that our actions are affecting our overall quality of life, is awareness. Self-awareness, however, is looking deeper into our own actions to improve those choices.
Self-awareness is a beautiful quality. I believe it makes you a better person and a more intuitive one at that. Although I have been told by a therapist, that I’m too self-aware (I didn’t know that was a thing, if I’m honest). The good thing about my oversupply of awareness is that I’ve become my own therapist. I’ve always been a person who analyses my thoughts and since I’ve been in therapy from a young age, that gave me tools to turn my awareness into a change of behaviour.
It’s difficult to know where to start with these things; however I truly believe a step to improving yourself is through therapy. Even if only for a few sessions to get into the mindset of teaching yourself how to analyse your behaviour. First, someone recognises it for you and the next thing you’re doing it yourself like a pro. From my experience, being aware was the easy part. It’s a good starting point to know why you’re doing something. However, the most difficult thing to do is change your thoughts and stop that cycle.
The way we think, and see the world, is sometimes ingrained in us. However, just because we’ve been thinking a certain way for years doesn’t mean it’s right. Our thoughts control our actions, therefore inhibiting us to reach our full potential sometimes. For example, I know the ways in which I sabotage myself. I’m a person who gives in very easily. I lie in bed because things get too much. I hide because I’m afraid of pushing myself. It’s something I’m managing.
I’m learning to control how I react in situations. Just because I think I should stay in bed, doesn’t mean I should. I know that when I’m sad I retreat, so right now I’m in a coffee shop. A small step to lift myself. This article has in a way inspired me to leave my ‘toxic traits’ in the past, for today. It’s an ongoing thing, we need to keep pushing ourselves because at the end of the day we deserve so much more than what we have. We deserve to be happy, every single one of us. The only way to do that is to push, keep recognising your thoughts, keep pushing through them, keep changing your actions. I want you all to travel beyond your potential.
