They say the first step is admitting you have a problem, and that's true in every aspect of life. Self-awareness and introspection have the ring of of a self-help guru's empty promises, but they are the starting point that leads to every improvement.

The Importance of Self-Awareness, and How to Become More Self Aware
They say the first step is admitting you have a problem, and that's true in every aspect of life. Self-awareness and introspection have the ring of of a self-help guru's empty promises, but they are the starting point that leads to every improvement.

Self-Improvement Is Impossible Without Self-AwarenessSelf-awareness (sometimes also referred to as self-knowledge or introspection) is about understanding your own needs, desires, failings, habits, and everything else that makes you tick. The more you know about yourself, the better you are at adapting life changes that suit your needs.

Of course, self-awareness is a big part of both therapy and philosophy. It's also the basis of the quantified self movement , which assumes that if you collect data about yourself you can make improvements based on that data.

"Know thyself." Though it may come as a surprise to some philosophers, self-knowledge requires more than intellectual self-examination. It demands knowing something about your feelings. In my experience philosophers are, in general, not the most emotionally attuned individuals. Many are prone to treat the ebb and flow of feelings as though our passions were nothing but impediments to reason. Freud, to grasp the moral importance of emotional self-transparency. Like in language that did not require an ear for poetry, he reminded us of how difficult it is to own kinship with a whole range of emotions.