In her book Insight, Tasha Eurich defines self awareness as “the will and skill to see ourselves clearly – to understand who we are, how others see us, and how we fit into the world around us”. It is a unique gift that only humans can cultivate which allows us to observe ourselves from outside, almost like a third person.

Delusion can often masquerade as insight. It is even more dangerous since it lulls us into thinking that we are self aware and makes us even more defensive and arrogant.

To get true insights, we need to first embrace our emotions and accept our prejudices. Once we acknowledge them, they can no longer blur our perception of self, thereby allowing us to clearly see who we are in that moment and how we are perceived by the environment around us.

To be self aware is to know who you are now while acknowledging that you don’t know who you can be tomorrow.