How Self-Awareness Is Different From Self-Consciousness?

Generally, people confuse Self-Awareness with Self- Consciousness. Often they take both the words as synonyms. But there is a huge difference between them. And to understand our Self, need to be aware of both things. Let look at the definitions Self-Consciousness Undue awareness of oneself, one’s appearance, or one’s actions. Self-awareness Conscious knowledge of one’s character and feelings.

Both the definitions at the first glance seem similar but when you dig deep into the meaning it gets clear. I came across the words when I was trying to strengthen my connection to the present moment. I was trying to pursuit self-awareness – becoming aware of my thoughts in my mind.

Only then I came to realise that humans are not just conscious, they can be aware too. We born with consciousness but awareness comes later in life to some people and it saddened that majority of people die living consciously, they never become self-aware.

Okay so let me clarify the difference between self-awareness and self-consciousness with an example. Suppose you are with your friends enjoying a day out happily chatting and having fun. There may be some thoughts in your mind thinking about what you going to do next after this vacation. This is what we call consciousness. Suddenly, a person from the group asks you a question: How do you do that? You are pretty good at it!

Within a second, your brain is flooded with an overdose of adrenaline and ceases functioning in a way that allows you to focus on the question. It’s as if a spotlight has been swivelled on you. Your joyful and easy-going nature of a moment ago has faded away. In those moments, the only thing you can think about is: What if you are going to say something stupid? What will your friends think about you?

What happened in those moments was, that your focus of attention that was on enjoyment with the friends has shifted to yourself, or say, you became self-conscious of your every step, words and actions.

You can say that consciousness is your awareness of your thoughts, memories, feelings, sensations, and environments. Your consciousness is your awareness of yourself and the world around you. This awareness is your thing. If you can explain something you are feeling in words, then you are conscious.

Your conscious experiences are constantly changing. For example, in one moment you may be focused on reading this article. Your consciousness may then shift to the memory of a dialogue you had earlier with a friend. Next, you might notice how uncomfortable your chair is, or maybe you are mentally planning a meal.

So by going closer to the definition of Self Consciousness, you see that it is being consumed by thoughts concerning the self. A self-conscious person is someone who is consumed with thoughts of self, who in the presence of other people constantly wondering what the other person is thinking about him.

You might know from experience that it is a very uncomfortable state if you want to be present in any situation. The anxiety you feel is the result of constantly judging the self. Your self-conscious inner monologue goes like this: I didn’t say anything during the conversation, I’m such a boring/stupid/awkward person and so and so.

In reality, most people are so enchanted with their thoughts and feelings that they don’t pay nearly as much attention to you as you thought they do. All are so preoccupied with dealing with themselves that even noticing others sometimes becomes a real challenge.

But in the state of self-consciousness, it’s easy to forget about this. That’s because you lose the sense between yourself and the world around you. And because of that, it may feel like your thoughts and feelings are objectively bigger than they are.

However, Self-Awareness as I talked about in my last post, is non-judgmental. You simply accept how you feel and permit yourself to feel so.

Self–awareness keeps us grounded, attuned and focused. - Sherrie Campbell

Self-awareness can be seen as a valuable tool for tuning in to reality, rather than living based on what’s going on in your heads. The self-aware person possesses a fairly good understanding of how his mind works. He understands the reasons why he thinks, feels and behaves the way he does. He has the greatest skill of examining his mind.

Conclusion

Consciousness is awareness of one's body and one's environment; self-awareness is recognition of that consciousness—not only understanding that one exists, but further understanding that one is aware of one's existence.

Another way of thinking about it: To be conscious is to think; to be self-aware is to realize that you are a thinking being and to think about your thoughts. Read How to do Meditation? What is Spirituality? How to master your emotions? How negative emotions help know your self? How does every experience help know your true self?