❤️ Building Self-Awareness and Self-Acceptance ❤️
Hello, Lovely Community!
Today is the Day-9 of our Self-Esteem Challenge. (The master post for the event is given here ). We will be focusing on the concept of Self-awareness and Self-acceptance which can help us in getting to know ourselves better, and also help us in building our self-esteem. ❤️
Let us know your thoughts and answers to the questions/ icebreaker below, in this thread! 
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Self-awareness is when we observe and focus our attention on ourselves by being honest as well as introspective so that we can focus on the reality of our emotions and behavior. Self-acceptance is all about having a realistic awareness of our inner voice which helps us in recognizing that we all can make mistakes being imperfect, as well as we have the ability to attain noteworthy accomplishments. Evaluation of self helps in understanding the reasons behind our actions and working on changing the aspects of oneself which needs improvement, leading to acceptance of oneself.
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Focusing on our mind and body, allows us to sensibly evaluate what we receive from outside and what we offer from inside of ourselves. It enables us to pay attention to our feelings, thoughts, beliefs, sensations, reactions, triggers, needs, and habits. Concentrating the attention on oneself involves being aware of one's emotions, identifying them, accepting their presence, and understanding their impact. To develop a thoughtful mindset involving awareness and acceptance of self, some effort and time for reflection with self is required, but this mindset can help us in increasing our EQ, self-esteem, and empathy, making our life meaningful, opening ourselves to new opportunities as well as becoming the best version of ourselves, once we begin practicing it.
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We can learn to build Self-Awareness and Self-Acceptance within ourselves by practicing some activities, such as: Reflecting on our thoughts/emotions - Reflection brings perspective and understanding in our lives which helps to be aware; Monitoring our Self-Talk - Paying attention to what we say and think about ourselves, challenging any thought which is inappropriate/negative; Being open to Suggestions - Asking for feedback from supportive and trustworthy people; Sharing and considering perspectives - Making an attempt to view things from another's perspective and sharing our own perspectives; Noticing and reflecting what bothers you about others - Paying attention to the aspects of other people that irritates us. Evaluate whether it is really about their behavior or is it some quality in them that we disapprove of in ourselves, which is getting reflected back to us; Journaling - Recording our thoughts/emotions to identify, clarify and accept their presence; Practicing mindfulness, meditation, or yoga - These activities can help regulate our emotions, improving our physical and mental health.
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�❤️ Here are some questions to ponder! ❤️
1) How can self-awareness help us stay grounded when feeling overwhelmed?
2) How can self-acceptance help us unlock our motivation to make progress in our life?
3) What does it mean to be ourselves?
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Icebreaker: What can you do to become a better version of yourself and what are three goals that you can set to work on yourself? Let us know! �
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Thanks to everyone in the team who have contributed ideas and content for this event. 
Team Contributors: @KristinHelps @Asruu @Starmedia
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@Starmedia
1) How can self-awareness help us stay grounded when feeling overwhelmed?
Because it lets us become aware of ourselves, what we do, what we can do to feel better, etc.
2) How can self-acceptance help us unlock our motivation to make progress in our life?
By knowing how to set goals and work on them
3) What does it mean to be ourselves?
To be genuine and unique
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Icebreaker: What can you do to become a better version of yourself and what are three goals that you can set to work on yourself? Let us know! �
I can imagine who do I want to be and what I can do to get there. (Main 2). Another thing I can do is set short term goals to achieve it
@Starmedia
1) How can self-awareness help us stay grounded when feeling overwhelmed?: Self awareness makes us think rationally
2) How can self-acceptance help us unlock our motivation to make progress in our life?: It helps us reach our goals and not give up
3) What does it mean to be ourselves?: To love ourselves for us
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Icebreaker: What can you do to become a better version of yourself and what are three goals that you can set to work on yourself? Let us know! �
I haven't really thought about it
Self-awareness may help you feel grounded because you are able to focus on what you are really feeling in that moment.
Self-acceptance may help motivate us because we can listen to our thoughts and think about how we could improve the situation or the ways we are feeling and focus on how we could improve them by setting manageable goals each day.
I think being yourself is acting as your authentic self and not changing who you are or what you believe in for other people.
To become a better version of myself I need to take more risks and not let my worries or fears prevent me from trying or doing new things. The goals I would set for this is as follows: learn how to overcome worry, list activities which I have not tried or would like to try and then try one new thing every couple of months.
@Starmedia
�How can self-awareness help us stay grounded when feeling overwhelmed?
Self-awareness allow us to see where our thoughts and emotions are taking us, it helps us to control those and stay grounded
�How can self-acceptance help us unlock our motivation to make progress in our life?
Self-acceptance makes us realize our weakness as well as our strong points, to which we an work upon and make progress in life. It helps us to move on making progress, embracing our weakness, realizing one doesn't need to be perfect
�What does it mean to be ourselves?
For me, it means following my own path, living the way i want to regardless of others opinion, having confidence in myself, not worrying about what others think.
Icebreaker: What can you do to become a better version of yourself and � � what are three goals that you can set to work on yourself?
- Managing my thoughts
- Taking it one day at a time
- Accepting my life and reality
@Starmedia
1) How can self-awareness help us stay grounded when feeling overwhelmed?
We are able to see/feel how we react to a situation, and what works to calm things when overwhelmed. For me, it encourages self-reflection and gentleness.... self-compassion. And that makes a big difference, rather than letting my inner critic go crazy and make things worse.
2) How can self-acceptance help us unlock our motivation to make progress in our life?
Acceptance doesn't mean that you're ok with something, that you smile and move on from it. It's realizing that this is the way things are, or this is the way I am, and that's ok. It can be good, bad or indifferent. And acceptance allows me to be more gentle with myself, realizing that I'm flawed and have my strengths and weaknesses, and that's what makes me who I am. I still might not like whatever it is, but it's me. And there's no point in beating myself up about it.
3) What does it mean to be ourselves?
Realizing that all our strengths and flaws are what make us unique, that getting frustrated and fighting parts of yourself that you might not like is a waste of energy and will only make things worse. And we've got the most experience in being ourselves without self-created masks or disguises.