Week of Self-Awareness

That's right, really get to know yourself.
It's done.  The Week of Self-Awareness is complete.  And. I. Am. Tired.  I don't know what it is, but being self-aware is very taxing emotionally and mentally.  However, I'm always happy after I observe my own behavior because I feel more informed about how to modify my behavior to get closer to a valued goal.  Hopefully, you came away from the week with a similar attitude, dear reader.

Did you miss the Week of Self-Awareness?  Go. Back. In. Time.

The Week of Self-Awareness

Day 1: Feeling - Good (and bad) vibrations.
Day 2: Eating - You are getting very hungry.
Day 3: Moving - Or not moving.
Day 4: Working - Or not working.
Day 5: Playing - Some work and some play.
Day 6: Socializing - All we need is love.

Last week was challenging, and I hate to be Debby-Downer, but next week is going to be even more challenging.  We've been working on our metacognitive muscle for a few weeks now, though, so I'm confident we're ready for it.

For researchers studying metacognition, two main concepts are frequently emphasized: monitoring and control.  The consensus seems to be that skillful metacognition requires both of these capacities.  In other words, we must be able to accurately and consistently monitor our thoughts and behavior and simultaneously control those thoughts and behaviors when necessary.  Demontrating both capacities is a hallmark of metacognitive mastery.  Last week, we working on monitoring (i.e. Self-Awareness).  Next week, we're going to focus on Self-Control.

What's the point you may ask?  As I've discussed before, self-control is a powerful predictor of long-term success and health.  Basically, unless we can control our impulses for short-term, immediate rewards, we will never be able to invest the consistent time and energy required to achieve bigger, more meaningful goals.  But, don't fear if you've been lacking in self-control until now.  Research suggests that training self-control is possible.  The key may be to try small, achievable self-control challenges first, before working up to more difficult projects.  Good thing The Happy Homunculus provides small daily challenge right?  Right?!


Until next time, stay happy!

Links: Check out other Weeks of Metacognition

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