Self-Awareness, Self-Examination, and Self-Determination

[DISCLAIMER]

As Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) is informed by Stoic philosophy, this blog entry is part of an ongoing series regarding a book entitled The Daily Stoic: 366 Meditations on Wisdom, Perseverance, and the Art of Living by Ryan Holiday and Stephen Hanselman.

The authors quote ancient Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher Marcus Aurelius who stated, “These are the characteristics of the rational soul: self-awareness, self-examination, and self-determination. It reaps its own harvest. . . . It succeeds in its own purpose . . .” (page 130).

Each of these terms is worth further examination. In common parlance, self-awareness is defined as an awareness (the quality or state of being aware: knowledge and understanding that something is happening or exists) of one’s own personality or individuality.

Knowledge is the fact or condition of knowing (perceiving directly) something with familiarity gained through experience or association. According to the American Psychological Association (APA), self-awareness is defined as “self-focused attention or knowledge.”

Wikipedia states of this term, “Self-awareness is how an individual experiences and understands their own character, feelings, motives, and desires.” With my approach to REBT, self-awareness is a necessary component for daily practice of the ABC model and unconditional acceptance.

In common parlance, self-examination is defined as reflective examination, as of one’s beliefs or motives, which is also referred to as introspection (a reflective looking inward: an examination of one’s own thoughts and feelings) or self-reflection.

According to the APA, self-reflection is defined as “examination, contemplation, and analysis of one’s thoughts, feelings, and actions. The condition of or capacity for this is called self-reflexivity.” Noteworthy, in a blogpost entitled The Reflection Process, I stated:

Once my clients understand how to stop upsetting themselves with unhelpful beliefs, I find it useful to use the reflection process with them. This isn’t the same thing as the individual’s experience at an initial appointment, whereby a broken mirror is brought into session for review[—whereby the mirror represents one’s beliefs, not the person].

Rather, the reflection process is where clients “stand back” and reflect upon the work we’ve done together[—as they’ve adapted effective new beliefs], per page 25 of The REBT Therapist’s Pocket Companion. This process is used throughout the therapeutic alliance, as a means of positive reinforcement of desired behavior.

Wikipedia states of this term, “Self-reflection is the ability to witness and evaluate one’s own cognitive, emotional, and behavioural processes. In psychology, other terms used for this self-observation include ‘reflective awareness’ and ‘reflective consciousness.”

In common parlance, self-determination is defined as free choice of one’s own acts or states without external compulsion. Expanding further upon this term, the APA defines self-determination as:

[T]he process or result of engaging in behaviors without interference or undue influence from other people or external demands. Self-determination refers particularly to behaviors that improve one’s circumstances, including decision making, problem solving, self-management, self-instruction, and self-advocacy.

Although Wikipedia contains a political definition of self-determination (a people’s right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage), a separate Wikipedia definition relating to self-ownership applies to this post:

Self-ownership, also known as sovereignty of the individual or individual sovereignty, is the concept of property in one’s own person, expressed as the moral or natural right of a person to have bodily integrity and be the exclusive controller of one’s own body and life. Self-ownership is a central idea in several political philosophies that emphasize individualism, such as libertarianism, liberalism, and anarchism.

Throughout my blog, I discuss self-determinism and why I uphold its importance. As an example, in a post entitled Self-Determination and Autonomy, I stated:

I’m using self-determination in the theoretical sense. Clarifying this matter, one source states:

Self-determination theory (SDT) is a macro theory of human motivation and personality that concerns people’s innate growth tendencies and innate psychological needs. It pertains to the motivation behind people’s choices in the absence of external influences and distractions. SDT focuses on the degree to which human behavior is self-motivated and self-determined.

As an example, if given an option to practice either self-care or self-soothing, I maintain that the former is better aligned with my interests and goals than the latter. Therefore, self-deterministically, I would choose self-care. Regarding autonomy, one source states:

In developmental psychology and moral, political, and bioethical philosophy, autonomy is the capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision. Autonomous organizations or institutions are independent or self-governing. Autonomy can also be defined from a human resources perspective, where it denotes a (relatively high) level of discretion granted to an employee in his or her work.

In such cases, autonomy is known to generally increase job satisfaction. Self-actualized individuals are thought to operate autonomously of external expectations. In a medical context, respect for a patient’s personal autonomy is considered one of many fundamental ethical principles in medicine.

Given the aforementioned example, I’m afforded autonomy by having the ability to act on my self-determined choice. To clarify this distinction, one source states, “Self-determination refers to the ability to make choices and decisions for oneself, while autonomy refers to the freedom to act on those choices and decisions.”

Having defined self-awareness, self-examination, and self-determination, I now turn to what authors of The Daily Stoic state about these terms for which Aurelius advocated (page 130):

To be rational today, we have to do just three things:

First, we must look inward.

Next, we must examine ourselves critically.

Finally, we must make our own decisions—uninhibited by biases or popular notions.

My interpretation of what the authors are advocating is for people to understand the limits of their control and influence, and to focus on the one element in life which they actually change: oneself, one’s beliefs, one’s behavior, and one’s own reactions to undesirable events.

If you’re looking for a provider who tries to work to help understand how thinking impacts physical, mental, emotional, and behavioral elements of your life—helping you to sharpen your critical thinking skills, I invite you to reach out today by using the contact widget on my website.

As a psychotherapist, I’m pleased to try to help people with an assortment of issues ranging from anger (hostility, rage, and aggression) to relational issues, adjustment matters, trauma experience, justice involvement, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, anxiety and depression, and other mood or personality-related matters.

At Hollings Therapy, LLC, serving all of Texas, I aim to treat clients with dignity and respect while offering a multi-lensed approach to the practice of psychotherapy and life coaching. My mission includes: Prioritizing the cognitive and emotive needs of clients, an overall reduction in client suffering, and supporting sustainable growth for the clients I serve. Rather than simply trying to help you to feel better, I want to try to help you get better!

Deric Hollings, LPC, LCSW

Photo credit, fair use

References:

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