Day 19: I am aware. Are you? 👀
choose what you want instead of what your past imposes on you :)
I figured out how much you & I underestimate Awareness. I read somewhere about awareness being the greatest agent for change… I didn’t understand it then but now I do and I’d share scenarios to help you understand too.
You know how you are so mindful of patterns within you and around you, how you stay away from triggers because you know it hits you hard - yup, that being aware.
You are empowered to make conscious choices based on an understanding of yourself and the situation, to notice what your choice created, and to then choose again. This is why awareness is powerful. By becoming aware, you are back to being in control.
Merely observing your thoughts and behaviour can drive positive action.
Take a look at my life -
Journaling allowed me to observe my mental conversations as well as thoughts and learn from it. It made me aware that most of my anger and frustration stems from peer pressure, work and Being Nigerian. 😩😩
Tracking my finances made it easier to call myself to order with my spending.
In my relationships too, I realized why we were feeling frustrated and because more of an action person than just words. 😏
When I started being more conscious of my eating unhealthy, I planned to eat fruits and veggies weekly & bi-weekly. 🍉🍍
Of course, changes can never happen overnight. Talk months, days, some people record years of being aware before changes truly happen. I mean, I still struggle with somethings listed and not listed.
Awareness is knowledge. Knowledge gives you power. Power makes it easier to change.
In the absence of awareness, you react mindlessly to your surroundings because all you have is the movement of thought. Your reaction will then depend on your past experiences and conditioning.
- In the past, I dealt with stress by eating, I dealt with being sad about my weight by eating more 😂{I expect you not to judge me}. If I did not become aware and realise that I was doing more harm than good, when faced with the same problem - as expected; I will do what I know best.
This plays on with trauma, relationship issues, self doubt, the list goes on.
You start to believe what you are experiencing is reality when actually you are experiencing the narrative your mind created as a reaction to what is going on around you.
Without awareness, you confuse what is happening in your mind with reality. You are at the mercy of the conditioned mind.
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Tomorrow on #LettersFromOsasogie, I’ll tell you the small steps I took towards being awareness and becoming a better me.
Thank you for reading.
Love always,
Osasogie 🤍