Jessie’s World Eps 21 – How Self Awareness Can Save Your Life
INTRO
Thanks so much for tuning into episode 21 of Jessie’s World Podcast where we are dedicated to becoming our best selves together.
If you are upwardly mobile, a go getter, and are committed to improving your self and your life, this is the place for you.
I am Jessica Lambert – aka – Jessica Vibez with a Z and I am your Host.
Today’s we will be discussing all things SELF AWARENESS and how to use this critical skill to improve yourself, your life, and your business.
We will focus on Solution-focused self-reflection and the role of the self in the attainment of goals – as it is most helpful in eliminating rumination and instead helps move an individual toward future-focused behavior.
Rumination is defined as engaging in a repetitive negative thought process that loops continuously in the mind without end or completion – basically, it’s when negative thoughts play over and over in your mind and are hard to stop. This can happen as a result from trauma and stress, and it can be detrimental because it can repeat the body’s negative stress response over and over making you susceptible to disease or chronic illnesses.
Because we are focused on HEALING, Wellness, and becoming our best selves at Jessie’s World – we will focus on SOLUTION-FOCUSED SELF REFLECTION and help point you to a brighter future and a happier healthier wealthier YOU J
But first, as always, it’s TESSY TIME.
TESSY TIME – Black on Black Crime
Today for Tessy Time I have a very serious topic to address.
This week we lost a loved member of the Hip Hop community, and even more important, of our Black community, and of our Young Male community, Takeoff.
Since this tragedy happened a few days ago now, and since Takeoff is a legendary pop icon and one third of the very popular group, Migos, I am sure you are aware of his untimely death and how it has broken hearts around the world.
While I would like to offer his family my heart felt condolences, I want to also acknowledge that this is a loss for us all. It’s also the right time to address the issue to young Black Men continuing to be the target of aggression from within and from outside our own Black community.
I released a poem in 2019 speaking out against what I call the ENDANGERED BLACK MALE. I note in this poem that there is more money, energy, effort, and collaboration to save the BLACK RHINO than there is being spent to save the BLACK MALE. The rate at which our young men are dying we need to call this an emergency. We need to have a NORTH AMERICAN WIDE (that’s Canada and America) COMMITMENT from GOVERNMENT to FUND PROGRAMS and SERVICES coming from all levels of community members in various forms (i.e. business, non profit, community group, small business, solopreneurs, programs, etc.) and priority should be given to THOSE WHO GREW UP IMPACTED BY AND DEALING WITH THESE ISSUES AND MADE IT OUT – so that we can help illuminate the way for young people navigating this world.
We need to form a protective shield around our young Black Kings so that they are safe…even from each other. If you care as much as I do about this DM me on Instagram @JessicaVibez and let me know what you think the solution is? Where do we begin?
As the daughter, sister, mother of Black Men, I for one cannot in good conscious remain inactive. We must ACTIVELY create change!!! My call to action is CONTACT ME / DM ME and let’s start uniting for change. #BlackMenMATTER.
TOPIC – How to Use Self Awareness to Improve Your Life
Having a better understanding of ourselves can lead to a more fulfilling and successful life. So …what is self awareness?
Definition – an awareness of one’s own personality or individuality, or simply put, to know thyself. Self awareness was first termed in 1876. In short, it is the ability to see ourselves clearly and objectively.
In knowing yourself, you connect with your inner gifts, your life’s purpose, and you are honest about where you are in relation to where you want to be. When things bother or trigger you, you stop and look at it, and learn from it, you see yourself in relation to the world as opposed to being ‘of’ the world.
Jessie’s World’s work is to help people become their best self – and SELF AWARENESS is very much a first step towards a journey of success, happiness, healing, and abundance.
Please note if you regularly participate in things that pull you away from self, like avoidance, self-medicating, or suppression – this will delay your success, or if you have managed to achieve success in life, it could threaten it, thus developing self awareness, and stopping things like avoidance, suppression, and self medication is critical for sustained success and wellness.
Special Note – In the Black Community we are not always encouraged to do the deep meaning full work of connecting with ourselves, figuring out who we are, what we love, how we want to relate to the world from a position of a strong sense of self. It’s never too late to embark on that journey, and I invite you to do it with me every week as part of this podcast. While we all need to work on our self-awareness and to strengthen it as a fundamental building block towards self-actualization, we in the Black community in particular have suffered from unique stresses and strain that can cause what is known as chronic stress – which is a root cause for many diseases and ailments including diabetes, blood clots, hear and stroke issues, and which Covid 19 feeds on. Studies show that our community is disproportionately impacted, and so making time for ourselves, healing ourselves, connecting with ourselves, loving ourselves, strengthening our immune systems through reduced stress all of this is critical to our lives.
When you consider the fact that from as early as 18 months old Self-awareness is a state in which the concept of the self reacts to social and environmental cues. Then, In adults, self-awareness is the capacity for deeper self-reflection.
If you were not conditioned at a young age to value yourself, care for yourself, see yourself as an individual within and in relation to a world, and nurture your individual qualities and positive traits – that makes self care, self awareness, and your relationship with community and world more difficult.
The good news is – it’s never to late to start building your self awareness.
BENEFITS of SELF FOCUSED SELF REFLECTION and the ATTAINMENT of FUTURE GOALS
1. Increased perspective-taking enables increased empathic responses to the plight of others. This improves relationships and connections with other human beings.
2. Self control / improved self regulation – which impacts things like eating habits, repetition of negative habits or behaviors, and even participation in criminal activity or aggression
3. Improved creative works – as one deepens their ability to go inward and reflect, they are better able to access their internal gifts and to tap into their creativity to master their artform
4. Improved social skills – and the ability to fit into society and succeed within existing social structures
5. Improved self esteem – that comes with successfully creating, fitting in, excelling, and a...
