Written by: Dan Lawson, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
Standing at the front of a room full of people or in front of my 50-inch monitor loaded with curious faces, I ask “Who is familiar with self acknowledgement”? It always seems to get a puzzled response. Typically a mixture of some reluctantly putting up their hand as if it's a trick question while others trying to recall a dictionary type definition.
I was certainly never taught this concept, and after hundreds of coaching hours with clients and facilitating events like this, I discovered I wasn’t alone! The consistent theme is that no one ever says with certainty that ‘self-acknowledgement’ is a tool or success strategy they consciously use to accelerate their progress for whatever goals they have in place.
The Oxford Dictionary states that ‘Self-Acknowledgement’ is “recognises one’s self as having certain characteristics”. How boring, it's not surprising no one cares!
When we come together as a group to bring conscious awareness to the benefits that occurred from those times we did acknowledge ourselves, the results are remarkable. The examples when extrapolated out into cultivated habits are life changing developments. Below are a couple of key themes that always come through strongly:
1. Raises awareness of what we already have within us.
For example, Gratitude. As gratitude is a cultivated habit of appreciation as an attribute, we can give ourselves this need. To feel appreciation is a choice, which we can practice until it comes naturally. To practise this; we feel gratitude, not just for the stuff we wanted to happen, the stuff we wanted to get, the stuff we wished to happen ‒ it's acknowledging our own appreciation for now, whatever is going on. Have you ever felt a feeling of emptiness within? The more we can acknowledge ourselves to truly appreciate this moment right now, the more the emptiness fades. And no matter what we have, and how successful others see us, we must feel appreciation for our current reality to feel that we are okay.
2. Trains the brain to recognise more of what we want.
Just like teaching a puppy to follow commands, we acknowledge and reward their behaviours. They become so well practised that these commands and tricks become second nature. It is the same for our own brains too. Noticing new attributes and behaviours we are developing takes conscious attention.
3. Creates intention to learn and develop.
Ambition and goals for where we are heading need to have a criteria of competency which we can measure ourselves against. Because without measurement we cannot know if we are improving. By having a self-acknowledgement practice, it requires us to be connected with our benchmarks of success and notice our progress as we bring them to life.
4. We are giving ourselves the significance that we need to be healthy.
Significance is one of Tony Robbins' 6 Human Needs. By giving ourselves this, it enables others to see what is important to give it to us also. For example; I woke up feeling lazy wanting to skip Crossfit, got outside and my motorbike had a flat. The perfect excuse to skip class today. However, I knew my fitness goals, turned up my determination and got the dreaded Gojek. When arriving at Wanderlust, I bumped into a friend and when he asked about my morning, I shared my story and acknowledged myself for the efforts I had made to get there on this day. He replies, “Well done mate, I admire that in you. I am glad that you’re here”. It feels so good, I needed that. Had I not known about self-acknowledgement, I would have been deprived of feeling such important significance in that moment.
5. And by feeling acknowledged, we are more equipped to acknowledge others.
Just like the quote from Yogi Bhajan “Love is self-acknowledgement. When you love yourself, you feel so rich that you can afford to love everybody”. Having developed the ability to truly acknowledge others, what kind of relationships in your life will begin to cultivate at an even deeper level around you?
Self-acknowledgement is a tool for self-improvement. Therefore it must have a successful strategy in order for it to be successful. Some of the common way to miss on great self-acknowledgements are the following:
Positive affirmations statements. Although useful for some people who love them, we are looking to acknowledge a demonstration that has already happened.
An intention of action. I.e: I will do whatever it takes. Again, this is future based rather than the demonstration we are looking for.
Acknowledging an outcome in isolation. I.e., I made my first $10k month online. Or I got the job, won the race, came first. Why are these not great self-acknowledgements? Because they are all external to you. Outcomes are uncertain. It would be that you have to always get that result for it to be worthy of acknowledgement. Rather than focusing on what you can practice, be able to develop, have control over, and demonstrate regardless of the external factors.
Therefore the criteria for Self-Acknowledgements to accelerate progress and becoming an objective serial winner must include the following:
Must focus on self/internal rather than external
Characteristics / Attributes are stated in the positive
Characteristics / Attributes are those that you are intentionally developing
They are tied to a specific outcome or goal you are working towards
I trust that this has provided you with raised awareness and an empowering start to self-acknowledgements being a personal habit to include into your daily journaling practice.
For great acknowledgement themes, I invite you to download the Parallaxx Transformations Accelerating Progress Workbook. You will also have the full module complete with the remaining steps to complete your practice to reach serial winner status even quicker!
This is the third of a series of articles that each represent a module from my Adventurepreneur Accelerator Program. It is designed to provide the thinking and structure required to create your ideal lifestyle with volition. Stay posted for future articles for more free valuable resources!
Dan Lawson, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Dan Lawson is a professional in the lifestyle creation space leveraging proven ideologies and approaches to emotionally connect with and create a life that we can fall in love with. As Dan himself is an Entrepreneur, Coach, Business Owner, Author, and Facilitator just to name a few of his professional angles of expertise, he prefers to go by his self-proclaimed title of ‘Adventurepreneur’ which encompasses all of who he can be for those who he serves. Dan is an advocate for proven strategies with clear competencies and metrics for success which he demonstrates himself through tangible guarantees on all his services ‒ which is rarely seen in personal development!
