Glee Factor. Self Awareness Tool

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Judith Burke
5 years ago
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1 Glee Factor Self Awareness Tool

2 You should know now that a man of knowledge lives by acting, not by thinking about acting, nor by thinking about what he will think when he has finished acting. A man of knowledge chooses a path with heart and follows it. Carlos Castaneda A Separate Reality

3 Self-awareness has been an interesting topic among research communities for the last few decades. In the recent years this interesting topic is also being discussed in the business world. As an employee striving to build a desired career, or as a leader in search of building a perfect team, the two words often recommended by experts to start the process with are: Know Thyself. For some, self-awareness is being mindful about one s strengths and limits. For others such as Daniel Goleman, self-assessment is only a pillar of the self-awareness practice. Emotional awareness which is simply recognizing one s emotions and their effects along with self-confidence (A strong sense of one s self-worth and capabilities) are the complementary aspects of the selfawareness block. However, there is a common ground in these different visions: Understand your life Story. As Dan McAdams, Northwestern University psychology professor, explains, The stories we tell ourselves about our lives don t just shape our personalities - they are our personalities. This tool helps you not only assess your values, limits and strengths but also to develop a habit of self-reflection. A challenge in today s connected and busy world. Have fun exploring yourself! Glee Factor Team

4 Daring to be ourselves-experiencing our values-is a challenging issue because it involves courage, which is uncomfortable for many people. And it is not something another person can do for us. Richard J. Leider The power of Purpose

5 A) Identify your values 1 From the list below, choose and write down every core value that resonates with you. Do not overthink your selections. As you read through the list, simply write down the words that feel like a core value to you personally. If you think of a value you possess that is not on the list, be sure to write it down as well.

6 A) Identify your values Abundance Creativity Inspiration Preparedness Acceptance Credibility Intelligence Proactivity Accountability Intelligence Intuition Professionalism Achievement Daring Joy Punctuality Advancement Decisiveness Kindness Recognition Adventure Dedication Knowledge Relationships Advocacy Dependability Leadership Reliability Ambition Diversity Empathy Learning Resilience Appreciation Encouragement Love Resourcefulness Attractiveness Enthusiasm Loyalty Responsibility Autonomy Ethics Excellence Making a Responsiveness Balance Expressiveness Difference Security Being the Best Fairness Mindfulness Self-Control Benevolence Family Friendships Motivation Selflessness Boldness Flexibility Optimism Simplicity Stability Brilliance Freedom Open-Mindedness Success Calmness Fun Originality Teamwork Caring Generosity Grace Passion Thankfulness Challenge Growth Flexibility Performance Thoughtfulness Charity Happiness Health Personal Traditionalism Cheerfulness Honesty Development Trustworthiness Cleverness Humility Humor Proactive Understanding Community Inclusiveness Professionalism Uniqueness Commitment Independence Quality Usefulness Compassion Individuality Recognition Versatility Vision Cooperation Risk Taking Warmth Collaboration Safety Wealth Consistency Security Well-Being Contribution Service Wisdom Spirituality Zeal Stability Peace Perfection Playfulness Popularity Power

7 A) Identify your values 2 Group all similar values together from the list of values you just created. Group them in a way that makes sense to you, personally. Create a maximum of five groupings. If you have more than five groupings, drop those least important.

8 A) Identify your values 3 Choose one word within each grouping that best represents the label for the entire group. Again, do not overthink your labels. There are no right or wrong answers. You are defining the answer that is right for you. 4 Identify the hierarchy of your values.

9 A) Identify your values 5 Action Plan: Now that you have a better understanding of your values, it s time for a reality check. Do you live your values on a daily basis? Focus on the value that you believe is most compromised and define an action plan with which you can practice this important value on a daily basis.

10 successful people have one thing in common: they focus on strengths and manage around weaknesses. Marcus Buckingham

11 B) Knowing your strengths and limits strengths are not what you re good at. weaknesses are not what you re bad at. We ve all been raised to believe that our strengths are best judged by the success we achieve. If that s the case, then a strength is the same as performance. But we instinctively know that s not true. If you re like most people, you have some activities or tasks you do well, but hate doing. You have the ability; you can do it. You just wish you never had to do it again because it drains you. Such activities cannot be called strengths. They are weaknesses. The simplest and best definition of a strength is an activity that strengthens you. And the proper definition of a weakness is an activity that weakens you even if you re good at it. Take responsibility for claiming your strengths by recognizing the SIGNs. A strength is an activity that strengthens you, but it can be hard to pay attention in the course of a busy workday to how what we do makes us feel. Train yourself to notice the SIGNs of a strength: success When you do the activity, you feel effective and in control (what psychologists call self-efficacy ). instinct Before you do the activity, you look forward to doing it. You can t wait to do it. growth While you are doing the activity, you feel inquisitive and focused. You may lose track of time and two hours feel like only five minutes have passed. needs After you ve done the activity, even if you re tired, you feel fulfilled.

12 B) Knowing your strengths and limits 1 I feel strong, energized and engaged doing the following tasks: 2 What underlying strengths do these tasks require? Remember that tasks are specific to a certain job or project while strengths are universal to any situation. For this exercise we suggest that you complete the Gallup Strength Finder 2.0 test. This test will help you discover your top 5 strengths and identify your dominant talents. If you do not wish to invest your money in this test, you can simply review their themes and use them as an inspiration to answer this question.

13 B) Knowing your strengths and limits you can t turn a weakness into a strength, but you can take steps to STOP or minimize the impact a weakness is having on you. STOP doing it and see whether anybody notices. This won t work all or even most of the time, but sometimes a process or a task has become redundant and won t be missed. Team Up with someone who is strengthened by what weakens you. For every person drained or bored by an activity, there is someone believe it or not who needs the same task invigorating. Offer Up a strength so deliberately, so insistently, that doing it becomes valuable enough to take up more and more of your time, crowding out time spent on weaknesses. Take the best of your job and turn it into the most of your job. Perceive the activity through the lens of a strength. If you hate confrontation, for example, but are strengthened by asking penetrating questions, approach a potential confrontation instead as a way to ask such questions.

14 B) Knowing your strengths and limits 3 I feel weak, drained and bored doing the following tasks: 4 Action Plan: What one action are you willing to do tomorrow to start leveraging one of your strengths and/or neutralizing one of your weaknesses?

15 Acknowledge emotions, not as good or bad, right or wrong, but as a source of information that help you gain self-awareness. Tang Weng Liang

16 C) Daily Habit for Self-Reflection Researchers believe that setting aside at least twenty minutes to reflect on ourselves, our emotions and our lives can be a very good practice towards developing self-awareness. Research from Wisconsin s Richard Davidson demonstrated direct correlation between mindfulness and changes in the brain. Reflection takes many forms. Some keep a journal, some meditate, and others take a long walk or jog. The daily habit for self-reflection will help us become an observer of ourselves. We Pay attention to what we feel and how these feelings distract, enhance, or challenge us. We acknowledge our emotions, feel them in our bodies, and we name them. Identifying and accurately labeling emotions is much easier with the right words. Action Plan: Start by noticing what you re feeling right now. Observe without judgment or trying to fix anything; just notice your emotions a few times a day. Plan a 20-minute daily pause and reflection for a week. write about the results and customize your technique based on your needs. No exercise is effective without holding yourself accountable to it. So we suggest that you review these action plans on a weekly or monthly basis and update them if necessary to get the best out of this exercise.

17 Authenticity is the daily practice of letting go of who we think we re supposed to be and embracing who we are. Brene Brown The Gifts of Imperfection

18 This exercise has been inspired by the following references: 1) 2) Claiming_Your_Strengths.pdf 3) aspx 4) 5) 6) 7)

Rank Your Values Exercise 1

Rank Your Values Exercise 1 Help Society: Doing something to contribute to the betterment of the world I live in Help Others: Helping people in a direct way, either individually or in groups Public Contact: