what are the old tapes running in your head about who you are?  About where you fit, about what's important about what you do, about your general value?

self awareness

you can't change unless you know who you are
why you are who you are
why you want to be who you are

why do you need to fix people
why are you so easily swayed
where are your true values

understanding all the triggers involved will help you to be more thorough in making change.  if one of the causes isn't identified, and thus not addressed in your vision or plan, you may not see much improvement in your happiness as if it was

emotional intelligence is crucial to this first stage and will continue to be important throughout the other five stages as well.   it gives you the ability to recognize and access your emotions and how they impact your thoughts and behavior.  it also enables you to manage your feelings, even those that are hurtful or negative, in healthy and constructive ways so that you can rationally approach change for a better future.


I know I put these paragraphs up before, but it seems to me that they were important enough to be repeated before I move on.

when we have a strong sense of self awareness, we are able to take responsibility for our thoughts, decision and actions.  when we don't, we can easily be influenced by other people, making decisions that are predicted on their interests, belief system and desires and not our own.  self awareness also enables us to create our own dreams so that we can live the life we want as opposed to living out dreams that have been handed down to us or put upon us by family members, friends, colleagues and other individuals ho may have agendas separate from our own

covey -- 3 root causes that determine how we respond to situations: genetics, psychic (upbringing) and environmental (some one or something influences you)

Self awareness is the foundation for change