Here are exercises to help you to get to know yourself…

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Analyse your motives

• Before acting on a decision, ask yourself “Why?” Follow up your response with another “Why?” And then a third. If you can find three good reasons to pursue something, you’ll have clarity and be more confident in your actions. Thai Nguyen
• Ricardo Semler, a champion of employee-friendly and radical corporate democracy workplaces, suggests that we can gain greater wisdom by simply asking three “Whys?” in a row about everything we are doing. He says that for the first ‘Why?’ you always have a good answer for. The second ‘Why?’ becomes more difficult to answer. The third one makes you realize that, most probably, you don’t know what you are doing. Gustavo Razzetti

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Reflect on your decisions

• Apply feedback analysis in your own life in order to become more aware of how you’re making decisions, and how you can improve your decision making process. Start codifying your rational thought process and motivations whenever you make an important decision, and then–about nine months later–reflect and assess the outcomes. Marelisa Fábrega
• Whenever you make a decision or take a key decision, write down what you expect will happen. Nine or 12 months later, compare the results with what you expected. Peter Drucker
• Reflecting on past decisions will help you: Become more aware of how you make decisions. Realize what worked and what didn’t. Notice your usual biases Improve your decision-making process.  Gustavo Razzetti

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Develop self-awareness through mindfulness and meditation

• Meditation is a foundational practice for improving self-awareness. To focus solely on your breathing is to focus on a key internal process. You’ll become aware of how your mind wanders, and get better at snapping out of distractions. Thai Nguyen
• Developing the observing self through meditation and mindfulness is the key to developing self-awareness. The reason we are largely unconscious to our behavior is that our egos act autonomously. We have no one monitoring our thoughts, feelings, actions, and behavior from moment to moment. Through observational meditation, we create a space between the doer of actions, the thinker of thoughts, and the feeler of feelings. The observing self can then monitor our thoughts, feelings, and actions with objectivity. It’s important to understand that we don’t have this observing self unless we develop it. Without this inner observer, we can’t develop self-awareness. Scott Jeffrey
• Take 15-30 minutes during meditation and simply listen to your mental chatter. Let your mind wander. Pay attention. Watch your mind’s creations as you would a movie. Mind Valley
• Meditate and witness your thoughts and emotions with detached alertness. Anthony Lambert
• Live consciously. Be aware. Observe yourself.  Anthony Lambert

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Who are you?

• This is a simple, yet profound, exercise. It works better when you practice it with someone else, but you can do it on your own too. You have to answer one question: “Who are you?” — over and over. The exercise is pretty straightforward: one person asks “Who are You?” and the other responds whatever comes to mind. The first person keeps asking “Who are you?” right after each answer. This goes on for two minutes, and then people switch roles– the person who responded now gets to ask “Who are you?” Reflect on the experience. Do you tend to associate your identity to your profession or relationship status? Did any of your responses surprise you? What have you discovered about yourself? Gustavo Razzetti

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Ask for feedback from others

• Ask for constructive feedback, regularly. We all have blind spots in our thinking patterns and behaviors. Asking for regular constructive feedback cuts through any self-deceit or one-dimensional views you might hold. But only ask people you’d consider mentors — those who understand you; whom you respect; and will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Thai Nguyen
• Ask a trusted friend questions like: What behaviors do you believe are limiting my potential? How do you feel when you’re talking to me? What do you think I’m good at? What are some of my weaknesses? If you had to describe me to someone, what would you say? Is there anything you avoid saying to me because you’re afraid of how I’ll react? Scott Jeffrey
• Ask trusted family, friends and colleagues about their perceptions of you.  Anthony Lambert
• Regularly asking for constructive feedback from people you trust at work, such as mentors and capable colleagues, helps you identify the blind spots in your behavior. S.J. Scott
• To increase your self-awareness, ask people you trust and who know you the best to provide feedback, be it positive or negative, on different aspects of your life. S.J. Scott
• It is difficult to assess your own behavior and other traits from a single perspective. Thus, it is always important to obtain feedback from an external source. Be sure to ask someone that you look up to and who is honest, as sugar-coated comments will do you absolutely no good. Margaux Diaz
• Perception/ Reality. The purpose of this exercise is to compare your self-image with what others think of you. List the top five words that describe who you are. Then ask ten people — a mix of friends, family and work colleagues — to provide their list (the five words that best describe you). What are the similarities? What are the differences? What surprised you about people’s feedback? Why? How do opinions from family and co-workers differ from each other? What does that tell you about how you behave in different environments? Gustavo Razzetti

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Observe others

• We are all more alike than we are different. In observing other people, we can often learn a great deal about our behaviour. Scott Jeffrey
• Observing other people can be a fun and potentially worthwhile hobby. If you stop to watch the behavior, postures, and mannerisms of the people around you, it can help you learn about how similar or different you are from them. S.J. Scott

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Keep a journal

• Capturing your inner thoughts and feeling in a journal helps us objectify them. Scott Jeffrey
• Practice self-evaluation and reflection. Keep a journal and track your progress. How would you rate your current level of self-awareness out of ten? Think about how often you say regretful things; repeat bad habits; make absent-minded decisions; and have erratic thoughts. Set regular goals, break big goals down into smaller milestones. Ask yourself at the end of each day, “What did I do well today?” And, “How can I improve on this tomorrow?” Thai Nguyen
• Write in a journal write for 30 minutes each day about your feelings, insights and problems.  Anthony Lambert
• Keeping a journal creates a permanent record of your thoughts, feelings, and the events in your life. This will allow you to look back on important life events and rediscover how you felt at the time. S.J. Scott
• Keep a daily ‘Sunshine and Sh*t’ journal.’ Record all the things you loved and hated within your day\. Write down how you felt, what your plans are, and anything else you’d like to express. Journalling is a simple and powerful form of self-expression that is a wonderful way to enhance your self-awareness. Mateo Sol

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Pen your memoir

• Identify your personal narrative. The life story you tell yourself is a fundamental component of your personality.  Scott Jeffrey
• Make a timeline of your life and the events that have had the biggest impact on you. Anthony Lambert
• Record your personal narrative. How would you tell the story of your life to yourself? What would your autobiography look like? One essential component of our personalities are our life stories, so mapping out what yours is may help you make some positive changes for the future. S.J. Scott

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Shine awareness on your shadow

• We are complex creatures with opposing tensions within us. For every aspect of our character we identify with, an opposing quality lives within our unconscious. Shadow work seeks to bring these opposing qualities to light so they won’t influence our behavior. Scott Jeffrey

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Make time for self-reflection

• Take time each evening to reflect on your behavior for the day. How do you perceive yourself? How do others perceive you? What can I learn from observing my behavior today? Scott Jeffrey
• Spend quality time with yourself each day. Anthony Lambert
• Spend time in solitude to reflect.  Anthony Lambert

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Create a mission statement and vision

• Write a personal manifesto to describes your core values and beliefs, the specific ideas and priorities that you stand for, and how you plan to live your life. This acts as both a statement of personal principles and a call to action.  S.J. Scott
• We have an ideal future self. This future self is our realized innate potential. Maslow found that self-actualizing individuals all have a sense of destiny. Invest time to clarify your personal vision for the future. Scott Jeffrey

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Identify your personal values

• Core values answer the question: what’s most important to me? When you become aware of your personal values, you can evaluate if you’re living in accord with them. Scott Jeffrey

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Connect to your body

• Reconnecting with our body and its instincts and emotions is an integral part of developing self-awareness. For anyone interested in developing self-awareness, I recommend exploring Tai Chi, Qigong, or Yoga.  Scott Jeffrey
• Your body is one of the most direct ways to connect with your emotions. If you tend to get lost in your head too much, practice scanning your body. Search for areas of tension or discomfort and ask, “What is happening here?” For instance, you might find yourself clenching your fists or jaw and realize that you’re feeling angry. Or you might even discover that a persistent physical issue you have is connected with a stressful place or person. Once you have become aware of the issue, you can then take steps to reduce your stress, anger or sadness. Mateo Sol

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Know your personality type

• Knowing your personality type allows you to maximize your strengths and manage your weaknesses. Start with understanding where you fall on the introvert/extrovert spectrum; know your Myers-Briggs type; and then conduct a personal SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats). Thai Nguyen
• Your personality is a collection of patterns. These patterns include thoughts, beliefs, worldviews, feelings, tendencies, and behaviors. Most of these patterns lie below the surface of our awareness. By getting to know our personality, we bring these patterns into consciousness increasing our self-awareness. Self-awareness activities for your personality include personality tests, strengths assessment and self-reflection. Scott Jeffrey
• Personality tests:   16 personalities test,   Jung Typology Test,  Jungian Personality Test,  PI Behavioural Assessment,  Psychometric tests
• Analyse your risk profile:  Risk profile

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Identify your strengths and weaknesses

• One of the most important things you need to know about yourself is what your strengths are, and what your weaknesses are. This will allow you to focus on the first, and manage around the second.  Marelisa Fábrega
• A SWOT analysis is something that entrepreneurs often include in a business proposal, but the same principles can be applied towards a self-study. Start by analyzing your own strengths and weaknesses, as well as your opportunities for growth and any potential threats that may stand in the way of you achieving your goals. Margaux Diaz
• Identify your strengths:  Strengths finder,  The VIA Survey of Character Strengths (registration required),  Clifton Strengths (payment required)

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Monitor your self-talk

• Monitor your self-talk. There is non-stop commentary in our heads that is not always helpful. Pay attention to the way you respond to your successes and failures — do you pass off your achievements as luck? And crucify yourself after failures? Being tough on yourself needs to be balanced with self-compassion. Celebrate your wins, forgive your losses. Thai Nguyen
• Inner Dialogue. Within our minds is a family of inner voices (or subpersonalities) with their thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Dialoguing with these characters out loud or in a journal helps us develop self-awareness of our emotional terrain. Scott Jeffrey
• Think of your thoughts as a river that you’re swimming in. Every once in a while, climb out of the river and sit on the river bank. Then, observe the river. Listen to it.  Marelisa Fábrega
• Pay attention to your inner voice. Would you allow anyone to speak to you the way you talk to yourself? Pay attention to the way you respond to both your successes and failures. Gustavo Razzetti
• Carry a notebook or a few sheets of paper for a week or two. A few times each day write your exact thoughts — not the general. Note the following: 1. What prompts each instance. 2. What emotions relate to it. 3. How the instances relate to each other, what categories they fit in. Joshua Spodek
• Identify the cast of characters that run around in your mind and personality. These characters are the key players in creating your emotional drama reactions and sabotaging behavior patterns. Come to know these voices and realise you are not them, but that which is aware of them.  Corrina Rasmussen

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Put a name to your feelings and emotions

• Expanding your emotional vocabulary will allow you to articulate yourself better. Once you are able to specifically identify what you are feeling, it will allow you to release stress and resentment that may be building up inside of your mind. Here is a list of feeling words that are better able to describe your emotions.  S.J. Scott
• Part of being self-aware is understanding your emotions. How do you feel right now? How many emotions have you felt in the last 24 hours? What is the most prevalent emotion in your life at the moment? If you get better at labeling your emotions, not only will you lead an emotionally richer life, but you’ll also be able to respond more appropriately to what’s happening around you.  Marelisa Fábrega
• Practice labeling your emotions as they happen. Close your eyes and focus on your emotions. Name them without passing judgment. Becoming more aware of how you feel can help you uncover what affects your mood but, most importantly, to avoid overreacting because you are not fully aware of what you are feeling. The more you get to know your feelings, the less they will cloud your judgment.   Gustavo Razzetti

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Answer The Proust Questionnaire

• The Proust Questionnaire is a self-exploration questionnaire that is designed to help you uncover your outlook on life and get clarity on how you think. This questionnaire is about one’s personality, and will make you think about what you want out of life and the things that you appreciate the most.  S.J. Scott

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Analyse your body language

• Sometimes self-awareness activities are not about what you do or say but how you go about doing it. Body language is an example of this. Not only will your posture and gestures affect how you perceive yourself, they will also have a great impact on how others perceive you. Evaluate your own body language by studying a video of yourself so you can find ways to improve. S.J. Scott

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Take a morning walk

• Taking a walk first thing in the morning can help you connect with your senses and examine your thoughts and feelings. Take this time to meditate about what is going on in your life, and your goals for the day. S.J. Scott

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Stream of consciousness writing

• If you want to become more self-aware, add Morning Pages to your morning routine. It involves three pages of long-hand stream-of-consciousness writing which is done first thing in the morning. For fifteen to twenty minutes, you simply write about whatever is on your mind. The psychological benefits of externalising thoughts via journalling are well-established. By keeping Morning Pages you’ll get to know yourself better, and give your immune system a boost. Julia Cameron (The Artist’s Way)

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Record your ABCs

• Albert Ellis’s ABC Model is a significant part of his rational-emotive behavior therapy (REBT) — a precursor to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). The basic idea behind the ABC model is that external events (A) do not cause emotions, but our beliefs do (B). When there is an adverse event, record A. Activating event that triggers your inner dialogue B. Beliefs you formed after the event. C. Consequences or how you feel. Though this exercise is very effective for dealing with an adverse event, you can use it in ‘normal’ situations too. The ABC model is a very effective way to reflect on our behaviors and adjust how we react — especially to events we cannot control. Gustavo Razzetti

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Write your own obituary

• The purpose of this exercise is to focus your life on what really matters to you. An obituary usually captures our best self — who we were, what we did, and what we achieved. Use the following template: 1. Start by writing your name. 2. In one line, how did you make the world a better place? 3. Write down how people will remember you. 4. Look yourself into the mirror and answer without filtering: “Who was the real you?” Not your masks or titles or roles. What was your essence? What made you unique? 5. Who will miss you the most? 6. Write down in one or two paragraphs the words that you would love someone to say about you once you’ve departed. Gustavo Razzetti

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What is your number 1 distraction?

• Our distractions tell us a great deal about our fears, impulses, and hidden desires. What unnecessary task takes up a lot of your time? Distraction isn’t always a bad thing, but when we obsessively find ways of escaping reality, there’s a problem. Draw awareness to your distractions and you will be on the path to greater self-insight. Mateo Sol

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What can your judgements tell you about yourself?

• Most of us aren’t even aware that we are projecting a lot of our shit onto other people. Why? Because when we disown the parts we dislike about ourselves, it’s easier to live with ourselves. But the easy path is the lazy path. Self-growth isn’t always flowers and rainbows, and nor does it need to be. The reality is that if we want to become truly self-aware, we need to own our projections at some point or another. By reclaiming and embracing the denied, suppressed, and shunned aspects of ourselves, we feel more at peace with ourselves and those around us. This, of course, requires radical self-honesty. Mateo Sol

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More exercises to know yourself

• Find helpers, teachers, counsellors, mentors, spiritual advisors to show you the way.
• Find a friend on the self-discovery path.
• Serve others.
• Reflect on your best and worst day.
• Take risks in life and stretch your comfort zone.
• Try new things.
• Throw yourself into life’s experiences
• Identify your paradigms, deeply held beliefs and and assumptions.  Then question them.
• Practice conscious breathing.
• Do the Johari window exercise