Unit 2

Self awareness, Empathy and Problem solving

SELF AWARENESS
“Know Thyself.” - Socrates
According to B.F.Skinner (1981), “A person who is aware of himself is in a better position to
predict and control his own behaviour”. According to Dann (2000), “self awareness is awareness
about what one thinks and feels in the present, identify the emotions one presently experiences
and manage and direct energy towards accomplishment of goals”. L Psychologists Shelley Duval
and Robert Wicklund developed the theory of self-awareness. They proposed that:
“when we focus our attention on ourselves, we evaluate and compare our current behavior to our
internal standards and values. We become self-conscious as objective evaluators of ourselves.”
● Self-awareness is the capacity that a person has to introspect.
● It includes gaining an understanding of and insight into one’s strengths, qualities,
weaknesses, defects, ideas, thoughts, beliefs, ideals, responses, reactions, attitude,
emotions and motivations.
● Thus, introspection also includes assessing how one is perceived by others and
● How others are impacted based on one’s behaviour, responses and conduct

There are 2 types of self awareness,

Public Self-Awareness
This type emerges when people are aware of how they appear to others. Public self-awareness
often emerges in situations when people are at the center of attention, such as when giving a
presentation or talking to a group of friends.

Private Self-Awareness
This type happens when people become aware of some aspects of themselves, but only in a
private way. For example, seeing your face in the mirror is a type of private self-awareness.
Feeling your stomach lurch when you realize you forgot to study for an important test or feeling
your heart flutter when you see someone you are attracted to are also examples of private self
awareness.
Importance of self awareness
● Self-awareness is a precondition to effective coaching and high performance.
● The more you know about yourself, the better you are at adapting to life's changes.
● Helps us to make changes and work on our areas of strength, as well as identify areas
where we would like to make improvements.
● Self-awareness is often the first step to setting goals.
● self-awareness is directly related to both emotional intelligence and success
● It allows us to make positive behavioral changes that can lead to greater personal and
interpersonal success
● It makes it easier to identify situations and people that hit our triggers and enables us to
anticipate our own reactions.
● People who know and manage themselves stay calm and focused under pressure, handle
ongoing stress, find satisfaction and joy in their work and personal life, and find more
energy for work and life.

Skills to become self aware

1) Create some space for yourself: Leave yourself some time and space every day –
perhaps first thing in the morning or half an hour before sleep when you stay away from
the digital distractions and spend some time with yourself, reading, writing, meditating,
and connecting with yourself.
2) Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness is the key to self-awareness. Through mindfulness
practice, you will be more present with yourself so that you can “be there” to observe
what’s going on inside and around you. It is about paying attention to your inner state as
they arise.
3) Keep a journal: Writing helps to process our thoughts and also makes us feel connected
and at peace with ourselves. Writing can also create more headspace as you let your
thoughts flow out onto paper.
4) Practice being a good listener: Listening is about being present and paying attention to
other people’s emotions, body movement, and language. It is about showing empathy and
understanding without constantly evaluating or judging
 5) Ask for feedback: the feedback may be biased or even dishonest but one will be able to
differentiate them from real, genuine and balanced feedback as it helps to learn more
about oneself and others.

Benefits of self awareness in real life situations

● Becoming more self-aware can be quite enlightening - People often aren't aware of
their inner thoughts, and surprising opinions can surface automatically. Over time, they
absorb ideas from their environment, which stay hidden until accidentally revealed. This
is why it's important to become more self-aware, so they can express their true ideas with
confidence.
● Self-awareness can open your mind to new perspectives - People tend to prefer their
own opinions, but being open to others' views broadens thinking and helps in facing life's
challenges.
● Self-awareness is connected to self-esteem - People's self-image is often shaped by
what they think others believe about them. Examining their subconscious beliefs through
self-awareness helps improve self-esteem and guides them confidently through life.
● Self-awareness can help you look at yourself objectively - People are often too critical
of themselves, which harms their well-being. Being objective and honest helps them align
their beliefs with their values. Change can be reinforced through positive affirmations.
● Self-awareness can help you know your strengths and weaknesses - People have
strengths and weaknesses. By recognizing them, they can avoid failure and use their
strengths to find success and support.

EMPATHY
Empathy is the experience of understanding another person's thoughts, feelings, and condition
from his or her point of view, rather than from one's own. Empathy facilitates prosocial or
helping behaviors that come from within, rather than being forced, so that people behave in a
more compassionate manner. It is the ability to emotionally understand what another person is
experiencing. Essentially, it is putting yourself in someone else's position and feeling what they
must be feeling.
There are mainly 3 types of empathy that a person may experience:
Affective empathy (emotional empathy) involves the ability to understand another person's
emotions and respond appropriately. Such emotional understanding may lead to someone feeling
concerned for another person's well-being, or it may lead to feelings of personal distress.
Somatic empathy (compassionate empathy) involves having a sort of physical reaction in
response to what someone else is experiencing. People sometimes physically experience what
another person is feeling. When you see someone else feeling embarrassed, for example, you
might start to blush or have an upset stomach.
Cognitive empathy involves being able to understand another person's mental state and what
they might be thinking in response to the situation. This is related to what psychologists refer to
as theory of mind, or thinking about what other people are thinking.

Importance of empathy
● empathy is essential in forming that deeper connection between you and your significant
other
● perception of feeling understood, or being shown empathy, is a key component of
satisfaction in romantic partnerships
● Researchers propose that having someone understanding our feelings allows us to better
acknowledge these emotions and enables us to ultimately live more satisfying lives
● It helps in the ability to distinguish and label the feelings of others.
● It helps in the ability to take on others’ perspectives
● It also helps in emotional capacity and responsiveness

Benefits of Empathy
● Empathy allows people to build social connections with others - By understanding what
people are thinking and feeling, people are able to respond appropriately in social
situations.
● Empathizing with others helps you learn to regulate your own emotions.
● Emotional regulation is important in that it allows you to manage what you are feeling,
even in times of great stress, without becoming overwhelmed.
● Fosters good, pleasurable and positive feelings
 ● Fosters emotional and physical health and well-being via connection, care, inclusion,
community, etc
● Heals painful psychological problems
● Expands our Perspectives
● Increases helping and altruism behavior.
● Is the active ingredient in conflict resolution

Problem Solving
The term 'problem-solving' refers to the mental process that people go through to discover,
analyze, and solve problems. Steps of problem solving are as follows
● Identifying the problem
While it may seem like an obvious step, identifying the problem is not always as simple as it
sounds. In some cases, people might mistakenly identify the wrong source of a problem, which
will make attempts to solve it inefficient or even useless.
● Defining the Problem
After the problem has been identified, it is important to fully define the problem so that it can be
solved.
● Forming a strategy
After the problem has been identified, it is time to start brainstorming potential solutions. This
step usually involves generating as many ideas as possible without judging their quality. Once
several possibilities have been generated, they can be evaluated and narrowed down.
● Organizing information
The more information that is available the better prepared you will be to come up with an
accurate solution. When approaching a problem, it is important to make sure that all the data is
present. Making a decision without adequate information can lead to biased or inaccurate results.
● Allocating resources
it is important to consider all of the factors that might affect the problem at hand. This includes
looking at the available resources, deadlines that need to be met, and any possible risks involved
in each solution. After careful evaluation, a decision can be made about which solution to pursue.
● Monitoring Progress
After selecting a problem-solving strategy, it is time to put the plan into action and see if it
works. This step might involve trying out different solutions to see which one is the most
effective. It is also important to monitor the situation after implementing a solution to ensure that
the problem has been solved and that no new problems have arisen as a result of the proposed
solution.
● Evaluating the results
After a solution has been reached, it is important to evaluate the results to determine if it is the
best possible solution to the problem. This evaluation might be immediate, or it can be delayed.