Our lives give us plenty of opportunities to prove ourselves on a daily basis, be it in our professional lives or personal matters. Our education system and upbringing prepare us from our infancy to face the world. But unfortunately, they never teach us to face our personal demons like shame, guilt and self-consciousness. So, we might go out prepared for the world but we often crumble under our own vices.
Self-consciousness is a unique characteristic that has been gifted to us. It makes us aware of ourselves, our strengths and also our weaknesses. This is a beneficial characteristic as it can stop us from making a fool of ourselves in a lot of situations. But when this characteristic kicks in a little too hard, it can hold us back from achieving our full potential. So, it is important that we find a perfect balance of this trait so that we can present the best version of ourselves to the world. Sometimes, our self-awareness can make us feel embarrassed over the smallest of things and hold us back from being our best. Strengths that come with self-consciousness are self-awareness, the ability to assess people and the ability to present oneself properly. Weaknesses that accompany this trait are embarrassment and shame. So, it is important that people have the right amount of this trait so that they can feel empowered with its strengths and not bogged down by its psychologically crippling weaknesses.
Understanding Self-Consciousness
Embarrassment and shame are two weakness that come with self-consciousness. Both these weaknesses can often be confused for one another, but they are different. And understanding this difference is very important. For example, if you meet a colleague and his or her name slips out of your mind; it can be an embarrassing situation for you. But if the same thing happens over and over again, then your self-image takes a hit because of that and that can become a source of your shame. So, the reason why it is important to understand this subtle difference is to make sure that you understand your emotions more clearly and handle them accordingly.
There are a few ways in which people can handle the drawbacks of self-consciousness and empower themselves to face the world and their vices.
3 Ways To Tackle Self-Consciousness
1. Remember The Truth
People in embarrassing situations often hope that the earth would swallow them up. People feel so because they think that others might be thinking badly about them. So, this idea can give rise to a lot of embarrassment and anxiety in people. But the reality can be a little different than that. According to many psychologists, the fear of people judging us can sometimes be only a fear. People tend to think a lot less about us than what we would like to believe. So, if we can remember this truth after we goof up, it will help us to be a lot more in control of our emotions.
2. Challenge Your Negative Thinking
When we have a big challenge ahead of us, it is likely for us to think about all the negative outcomes. But it is important to see through this cloud of doubt. We often get nervous because we fear that people might be thinking the same negative things about us that we think about ourselves. The way to deal with this is to stop agreeing with our negative thoughts. Challenge the negative notions and see if they are really your drawbacks. This way you will be able to handle criticism better, if in case it comes your way.
3. Try To Accept Yourself
It is very important that we learn to accept ourselves. We will always be surrounded by self-doubt and possibilities of being shamed or embarrassed if we don’t accept ourselves as we are and work towards being better. So, acceptance is the key to be better.
Self-consciousness can be a great tool for developing our personalities if used in a correct manner. So, find your way to manipulate this trait for your betterment.
