The Aware Animal: Why 95% of Us Think We're Self-Aware (and What the Rest of Us Are Missing)
Quick question. Are you self-aware?
If you said yes, you're in good company. 95% of people believe they are. But in organizational psychologist Tasha Eurich's research, only 10 to 15% actually meet the criteria. That gap, and what to do about it, is the subject of the latest edition of Reading Between the Lines.
In this issue, I get into why our favorite self-improvement tool, asking ourselves why, is actually a trap that pulls us into rumination instead of insight. The fix turns out to be one word, and it's the same shift I teach in the second of the 5 Steps to Empathy, Ask Good Questions. I also share three quick questions you can try today, plus the finding that surprised me most: you cannot fully know yourself by yourself. Real self-awareness requires what Eurich calls loving critics, the people who care about you enough to be honest.
This edition also connects to something new: The Aware Animal is the first episode of What Does It Mean to Be Human?, the six-episode podcast limited series Maria Ross and I just launched on The Empathy Edge. Consciousness, self-awareness, animals, AI, and what it all means for being human.
Stay curious. Ask good questions. Let empathy follow.