The backlash against self-help is lock-step with the influx of advice from experts. I somehow exclude myself from this deluge. I justify this by keeping myself accountable when I forget the nuance between self-help and self-awareness, or advice and perspective. But as in many cases, the nuance makes all the difference.
Self-help often comes from a place of judgement. It provides advice on how to get ‘better’. It implies that something needs to be fixed. It doesn’t create a space for possibility, it forces a path that may or may not serve us. It doesn’t see nor does respect nuance.
Self-awareness comes from a facilitated conversation with ourselves, without judgment. It provides a perspective from another angle, from another narrative. It provides a clearer picture of our opportunities and the space needed to evolve, in our own way. It’s looking for the nuance in how we show up (character) and where we show up (meaning).
And this all matters because self-awareness is too valuable to ignore. When we become more self-aware we actually see the noise in our lives for what it is.
Seeing reality with a more balanced and honest perspective creates a vacuum that’s begging to be filled. It induces action with or without conscious intention. Our infinite amount of seemingly innocuous decisions are now influenced by this awareness.
From my perspective, that’s where the juice is. Instead of looking for people to tell me what to do, I seek to better understand who I am. I seek to simply be aware.
Pause. Breathe, and quiet the NOISE.
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