In her book, Do You See Yourself as a Mistrusted Advisor, Cordelia Fine, tells us that it’s easier to apply lessons about self-awareness to others, but shows why we are better off to manage the distortions of our beliefs – as best we can.
She challenges us that self-awareness is not a small deal because …
“your unconsciousness is smarter than you, faster than you, and more powerful than you.” Because of this, we can never know all its secrets. For instance… how do you live with the fact that others are better at things such as;
-- landing a raise
-- staying closer to their families
-- bring in more profit
-- attracting others around them
Fine described the distorting prism of self-knowledge as our “vain brain,” which selectively edits out truth to protect our fragile egos.
Not a small deal … but you can counter the problem by surveying your strengths and weaknesses and take an accurate look at where you are headed. In addition... by looking at your next conflict through another person’s eyes, you'll see a wider view from your own.
It may mean you accept a few flaws… or even that you apologize for some glitch… but the brain adjusts the “distorting prism of self-knowledge” whenever we look again -- through another lens.
Good thing my brain keeps adjusting my self-knowledge! I wonder who I am today!!! It will be fun to find out.
Posted by: Robyn McMaster | August 24, 2006 5:58 AM | Permalink to Comment