Written by: Vanina Pitsch, 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.
In honor of International Women’s Day, this article will shed some light on three steps that you can take to increase your self-awareness and ultimately break the bias to create a more gender-equal and inclusive world.
First and foremost, it’s important to recognize that everyone has biases whether they are conscious or unconscious and becoming aware of your own biases is the first step towards being more inclusive and mindful of others you interact with on a daily basis.
Being passionate about leadership development and creating inclusive work environments, I strongly believe that the work starts with yourself ‒ hence leading yourself and leading by example are fundamentals to moving the needle in the right direction.
Having spent the last few years working on myself to have a positive impact on other people’s lives, I have identified three steps that you can take to become more self-aware.
Step 1: Cultivate objectivity
Seeing ourselves objectively can be difficult as we see and experience life through our own lenses. This means that we see the world through our own subjective observations and we make connections based on how past experiences have shaped us. As such, it is important to consider doing the following to cultivate objectivity:
Visually imagine how you are moving from your own perspective (1st person view) to someone else's view (3rd person view). For example, you can ask yourself: What is my friend or my colleague seeing?
Notice how others react and behave around you. For example, you can look out for facial expressions and observe other people’s body language.
Ask for feedback to see and understand other people’s perceptions about you. That being said, recognize that they too could be influenced by their own biases.
Step 2: Practice mindfulness
There are a variety of exercises that you can do when practicing mindfulness. To start, I would recommend doing a simple body scan where you turn your attention to each part of your body (going from head to toe). This practice helps you train your mind to be in the present moment. Here are a few tips to follow when doing a body scan exercise:
Connect to your heart and feelings to tune into your body awareness. For example, you can ask yourself: What am I feeling right now? Does any body part feel warm or cold? Or perhaps even tight?
Notice any body sensations objectively and nonjudgmentally.
Bring yourself back to one of the body parts you were focused on, if you find yourself drifting away to your thoughts.
Step 3: Become aware of your unconscious biases
While you can increase your self-awareness by cultivating objectivity and mindfulness, there is only so much you can do to become aware of your unconscious biases, I would recommend to do the following:
Take the Project Implicit Test created by Harvard University.
Keep an open mind towards your own unconscious biases so you can start noticing them as you go about your daily life. For example: You can start by self-reflecting and asking yourself: When and how does this bias show up in my life?
Be compassionate towards yourself so you can focus on changing your behavior and doing your best instead of beating yourself up for having biases in the first place and trying to be perfect. For example, you can ask yourself: What can I do to break my own unconscious biases? And what systems can I put into place to catch myself when falling into a pattern?
To conclude, self-awareness is essential to not only break your own biases but to also understand the people around you. When you are able to put yourself into other people’s shoes and meet them where they are at, you are ultimately helping to create a more inclusive and equitable world.
On that note, if you haven’t celebrated International Women’s Day yet, set some time aside to reflect on how you can lead by example and break your own biases.
If you are looking for some support in taking the first step towards becoming more self-aware, you can book your free clarity call via this link.
For information about my services, visit this site. For more content and inspiration, you can also follow me on my social media channels on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn.
Vanina Pitsch, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Vanina Pitsch is the founder of GloWell Coaching ‒ a coaching and mindfulness company aimed at supporting professionals in their career and life so they can evolve to their next best selves. Certified as a Personal and Professional Coach (PPCC) from Concordia University, she offers a variety of different coaching packages and organises online wellness events as well as urban wellness retreats to support individuals and organizations in integrating well-being in their personal and professional lives. For more information, you can find her on Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
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