Post #5. On The Power of Awareness

As I go deeper into the subject of human flourishing, through daily study, observation & hard lessons learned… I’ve seen some reoccurring patterns.

When something is held to be true in not only a wide range of disciplines, from psychology, to biology, to human evolution and more, but also in my own life as a spark to my interest, it’s kind of hard to be ignorant about it…

So, the point here is simply this:

Our level of deep & sustainable joy in our lives is directly linked to our knowledge about what brings deep & sustainable joy in our lives, and the level of action we take accordingly.

So, what do I mean with this?

I simply think we urgently need to ask ourselves what truly feeds our soul… and also get into some really deep study about human nature…

This sound simple and it really is… just start noticing how you feel while doing certain things… how does it feel? In your heart? Do you feel alive? Do you feel proud? Or do you feel the integrity gap? Shame?

Noticing these feelings are great opportunities for your growth. They teach you what you should and should not do…

Also, to gain some real backbone to your knowledge is to start reading, studying issues that you are struggling with… if it’s the meaning of life or an health issue, this will bring you greater awareness and a sense of power over your situation.

One of my earlier mentors Robin Sharma (I never met him in person but really see him as a mentor, as he taught me so much), said it so clearly:

“Awareness precedes choice and choice precedes results.”

Really think of that… if you have a journal, write it down… it BIG LETTERS.

“AWARENESS PRECES CHOCE AND CHOICE PRECEDES RESULTS.”
– Robin Sharma

This idea applies to a lot of things:

If your state of awareness/knowledge (what you hold to be most true) is that you need only more money to be happy, you will make choices that go mostly towards more money, and you will most likely get the results: more money… But was that what you where really looking for? What about relationships? What about good health? Wellbeing? Peace? Integrity? Nope… The awareness about how these factors effects your level happiness where… well, not there…

So, what can you do about this? How can you gain a more true picture of what brings what you really want? I assume that you want a sense of inner peace, joy, fulfilment… Ok. That’s great if you’ve arrived at this first awareness of what you REALLY looking for…

But what get’s us closer to these feelings, in a sustainable, real way? This awareness differs from person to person, depending on your knowledge about human nature…

These are the two approaches I’ve used on my journey towards better awareness of what brings me this lasting joy and what doesn’t. The two approaches are most effective if combined.

1. The Self Student: is asking himself what he really wants… what is the feeling he’s really looking for? And then asking himself: What activities are taking me closer to this feeling and which ones are taking me further away?

2. The Researcher: is constantly learning, listening to interviews and noticing what mistakes and blindspots other’s struggled with in their field of awareness… This approach gives you invaluable knowledge about what is possible, which is the very awareness that leads to change…

IF YOU BELIEVE (awareness) YOU CAN CHANGE, YOU’RE MORE LIKELY TO WORK (choices) FOR IT. (and get the results you’re looking for)

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Do you have any questions on more specific ways to gain this deeper clarity and awareness so you can make more informed decisions, to ultimately get the results of fulfilment & joy your looking for? Im here to answer questions. 

Peace and all good.

Best wishes, 

Daniel