In my last article, I discuss how self-awareness is the foundation for developing EQ (emotional intelligence). In this article, I am excited to share how self-awareness combined with consciousness can open new perspectives and spike personal growth. Consciousness is rapidly becoming an essential business characteristi
There are several explanations to describe consciousness and different levels of depth. I view personal consciousness as the state of being aware of our own body, emotions, thoughts, feelings, senses, and environment. People often believe that consciousness and self-awareness are the same; this is not true. Nevertheless, they are closely connected.
Self-awareness is the observer of our consciousness, thoughts, and knowledge that we actually exist.
Through self-awareness, we have a reasonably good observation of how or why we think, feel, behave, and react in specific ways. Self-awareness also allows us to perceive how others perceive us and how we respond.
Little children are an excellent example of understanding the difference between self-awareness and consciousness. They are born conscious and can acknowledge the people, their surrounding environment, their needs, and their feelings. Still, they are unaware of their actual existence or why they or others behave or feel the way they do until they age and self-awareness develops.
Careful observation allows us to identify consciousness and lack of self-awareness in babies under 18 months.
When a child under 18 months forcefully hits another child on the head with a hard toy, the targeted child will begin to cry. The child under 18 months is conscious of what is happening in the present moment but doesn’t have the self-awareness to understand the injured child’s feelings of pain and might even hit him again to see the wounded child’s reaction again.
Self-awareness is quite noticeable after about 18 months of age. Children begin to use pronouns such as I, me, and mine. They start to react to their own name and use it to refer to themselves. They become aware of themselves when looking into a mirror. They begin to express their desires, needs, likes, and dislikes. They start to comfort others and show concern when others cry.
Consciousness is like waking up after a deep sleep.
Growing in consciousness requires us to mindfully wake up and be aware of what our thoughts, feelings, and intuition are letting us know, get in tune with our self-awareness, and set intentions concerning what we want our role to be in life. Higher consciousness can increase our confidence and belief in our capabilities to achieve tremendous personal and professional success. Furthermore, we become more conscious of the impact we want to have on the world.
Is consciousness unique to humans in comparison to other mammals?
The Portuguese neurologist, Antonio R. Damasio, professor and head of the Department of Neurology at the University of Iowa, deals with the mysteries of consciousness and the question of where it is anchored in the human brain. As in humans, core consciousness is a phenomenon that many animals with simple nervous systems possess.
We can find consciousness in the moment, the so-called “now,” and a place, the so-called “here”. While our organism engages with an object through seeing, hearing, smelling, or feeling, our brain structures generate a report at a different, non-linguistic level. This report records events in other brain regions activated by the interaction between the object and our organism, creating what we call consciousness of these interactions.
The seat of core consciousness is not located in one particular place in the brain, according to Damasio, but in many different places interacting with each other.Consciousness allows us to escape being the subject of situations and become observers instead. Once we become observers, we can recognize our emotions and take charge.
A conscious business movement is on the rise.
Having a conscious business describes companies and people who consciously choose a business strategy capable of benefiting humanity, the environment, and our planet. We can observe business consciousness drastically rising nowadays as investors increasingly invest in sustainability more than ever.
Conscious business also describes individuals becoming more aware of themselves, their thoughts, feelings, and their environment. Mindful employees reflect deeply on their desire or intuition to choose a career path that fits their values and gives them a sense of purpose, the feeling that they are contributing to creating a better world through their ideas, creativity, time, and energy.
Conscious business describes a company striving for the following:
- A conscious company tries to do its best for every individual involved; this includes employees, suppliers, clients, or customers and any other cooperation they have with other entities.
- The business ensures a maximized clean return on investment by creatively gaining profit using socially responsible investment, conscious consumerism, and sticking to its core values.
- This type of company seeks sustainable solutions, keeps its footprint at a minimum, and supports green solutions to protect our planet wherever possible. This process includes all suppliers and cooperative entities that have the same values.
I love working with and supporting companies on their path to growing a conscious business. I am happy to see many companies evolving, incorporating, and becoming pioneers in the latest developments towards sustainability, raising core values, and creating harmony and purpose in the workplace.
Mirror Self-Recognition Testing (MSR). Do animals possess the ability of visual self-recognition and self-awareness? Stay tuned to find out.
