Changing The Channel with Kirsten Powers

Changing The Channel with Kirsten Powers

Share this post

Changing The Channel with Kirsten Powers
Changing The Channel with Kirsten Powers
Why Most People Lack Self-Awareness
Essays

Why Most People Lack Self-Awareness

'Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will direct your life and you will call it fate' --Carl Jung

Kirsten Powers's avatar
Kirsten Powers
Jun 27, 2024
∙ Paid
397

Share this post

Changing The Channel with Kirsten Powers
Changing The Channel with Kirsten Powers
Why Most People Lack Self-Awareness
92
47
Share

Do you think you are self-aware?

Until about five years ago, I was utterly convinced that this label applied to me.

But really, I was clueless. I mistook being self-critical for self-awareness. This mistake led me to believe that the way I saw myself and the world was completely accurate. This happens when we haven’t brought what’s stored in our unconscious mind into awareness. Until then, we see life through a distorted lens and believe it’s objective reality.

Researchers confirmed in the Harvard Business Review that the majority of us are deluded about ourselves and how others experience us: “Even though most people believe they are self-aware, self-awareness is a truly rare quality: We estimate that only 10–15 percent of the people we studied actually fit the criteria.”1

The authors found that there are two types of self-awareness: internal and external self-awareness:

Internal self-awareness represents how clearly we see our own values, passions, aspirations, [how we] fit with our environment, reactions (including thoughts, feelings, behaviors, strengths, and weaknesses), and impact on others.

External self-awareness means understanding how other people view us in terms of those same factors listed above.

The study found that people with internal self-awareness are “happier and more satisfied with their relationships” and “experience less anxiety, stress, and depression.” Those with external self-awareness “are better at expressing empathy and embracing other people’s perspectives” which usually leads to better relationships, and thus more happiness.

This post is for paid subscribers

Already a paid subscriber? Sign in
© 2025 Kirsten Powers
Privacy ∙ Terms ∙ Collection notice
Start writingGet the app
Substack is the home for great culture

Share