The Lies You Call Self-Awareness

Start with the words, ‘I can’t ‘ or ‘I’m not’ and fill in the blank with something you are bad at. Or something you can’t do. Something you haven’t gotten good at…no matter how hard you have tried.

You have an evolved mind. So you should know all the things you can and can’t do. You know all the things that you are, and that you aren’t. You know the things you’re good at, and the things that you are definitely not…and never will be.

I am not creative. I am not a math person. I do not handle change well. I don’t do well speaking in public. I choke in pressure situations. I can’t comprehend anything I read. I can’t stay focused. I am really set in my ways.

Congratulations. You have self-awareness.

Being self-aware…it’s something that we pride ourselves on. It’s something that we wear as a badge of honor. It has become this perceived gateway to adulthood. When you finally know who you are, you are finally a grown up.

Socrates said ‘Know thyself.‘ And you know yourself.

Good for you. You made it.

But…the only problem is…it’s a bunch of lies.

Most of it anyway.

What you’re doing is putting shackles on your life. ‘Self-awareness’ can create prisons. Worse…it’s you locking yourself into a prison. It’s you locking yourself into a fixed skill set. Locking yourself into a fixed personality. Locking yourself into a fixed way of life.

As a result, you stop putting effort in certain places. You give up, in entire areas of life. Just because you place some high value on knowing yourself.

You will never speak in public. You will never be good at math. You won’t be able to focus. You have no chance now. Because you’re not allowing yourself to grow.

Doesn’t that seem idiotic?

You cannot underestimate the power of the human brain. Of your brain. Do not underestimate the power you have over your own life. The power you have to grow. The power you have to better yourself. Do not limit your chances of success. Do not limit your opportunities in life.

The human brain is malleable. Meaning, it can bend and twist and shape…into anything. Most importantly…your brain can grow.

You brain can achieve anything you would ever want it to. You can learn, anything you would ever want to learn.

You can actually get smarter. Your whole life. You can continue to get smarter.

This is not my opinion…this is science. It’s proven.

You may not be good in math. That might be accurate. But that’s not an excuse to be bad at math your whole life. You are not good in math…yet.

You may have never done much of anything creative. That just means that you haven’t unlocked and unleashed your creativity. It’s in your brain. It’s waiting. And no one else is going to unlock it but you. But you will not be creative until you want to be. Until you allow yourself to be. Until you drive yourself to be. Labeling yourself ‘not a creative person’ will not get you there.

You may not be too intelligent right now. Your actual IQ score may be low. But you can get more intelligent. You sit there and say, ‘I’m just an idiot.’ No. How about, ‘I will be more intelligent.’ That sounds smarter already.

Take on challenges. Grow and learn. Get better. At anything. At everything.

The mindset you need…is that you have brain power. You can use your brain to overcome any obstacle. Know you’re going to have to work hard to be great at something. Know with some things, you’re going to have to work really hard, just to be good. But nothing can stop you if you put my mind to it. If you put your brain to it.

Albert Einstein said that ‘Genius is 1% ability and 99% hard work.’ This is a man who almost worked himself to death…literally. More than once. And we sit here and call him a genius. And he knew that we all have it in us. He knew he worked his ass off. And as a result, people labeled him a genius.

We are all made up of the same stuff.  You, me, and yes…Albert Einstein. Not into physics? Fill in a name of the person who has mastered the field that you want to master. You are the same.

It’s not bad to be self aware. It is obviously good to know your strengths and weaknesses. It highlights the areas in which, you might have to work harder to learn. It highlights what you might have to overcome, to get where you want to go.

Just don’t allow self awareness to become your bullshit excuse to stop growing. To not put effort towards something.

Do not let your self-awareness stop you from anything.