Free Worksheet for Self Awareness {50 Prompts}

In this article we are going to cover the self awareness, it’s benefits and how to achieve it with self awareness worksheets. It always helps to know why something is important; In order to have your best life, you need to understand your own experience- your thoughts, emotions and actions. You can consider it a life long self-discovery journey. This article and the free printable will help you be the kind of person that knows yourself very well. It’s not that self awareness breeds perfection. Rather, it’s that self awareness helps us understand our strengths and weaknesses. It informs us of the areas in which we have room for growth.Don’t forget to download the self awareness worksheet– a very useful tool!

What is Self Awareness?

Did you know that self awareness is defined as, “conscious knowledge of one’s own character, feelings, motives, and desires?” How well do you know your character, feelings, motives and desires? You might be surprised…it’s easy to get so caught up in managing other’s motives and desires and forget to contemplate your own. As a licensed therapist, I’m always asking thought provoking questions…it’s what I do. This bleeds over to my family life…my daughter often responds with, “I don’t feel like doing self research!”. We both laugh at her honesty, but we also both know there is a wealth of information found in “self research”.

When you begin to work on self awareness, I want to encourage you not to “judge” the results. Rather, I want you to just notice. Focus on being curious with what you come to realize about yourself. Understanding yourself is the goal. Once we gain more clarity on that then we can begin to evaluate the action that is needed in response to the new understanding.

Let’s talk more about the “why” self awareness is important.

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Benefits of Self-Awareness

There are so many benefits of self-awareness. As a licensed therapist, I would say it is vital to understand and know your beliefs, thoughts, feelings and why you do the things you do. Self-awareness is a huge factor in understanding not only your own life, but how you relate to others. Imagine living your life with so much more knowledge about your desires, emotions and motives. This kind of clarity is life transforming. It is also the #1 thing I recommend as a licensed therapist. We are going to cover some (not an exhaustive list) of the benefits in the following areas.

Improved Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is defined as, “the capacity to be aware of, control, and express one’s emotions, and to handle interpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically”. In other words, we must do some emotional learning. The ability to name your own emotions and understand different emotions and why you are experiencing such emotions will give you valuable information about your thoughts and why you do the things you do. Have you ever experienced a negative emotion and reacted negatively as a result? Maybe you wanted to act differently, but your emotions got out of control. If we take the time to understand those emotions- they will inform us, helping us learn and grow. Emotions are like a check engine light, alerting us to something deeper going on beneath the surface. Positive emotions work the same way- informing us of valuable information that will guide the way we respond and relate to others.

Improved Social Awareness

Social awareness is a form of emotional intelligence. It helps us better understand and empathize with others and their emotions and experiences. You are probably wondering how self awareness helps us with others awareness. Well, it’s important to first understand yourself in order to understand others. If we lack self awareness, then we will be more likely to misinterpret the cues others are giving.

Reduced Cognitive Distortions

It’s important to understand what a cognitive distortion is before I insist on the importance of reducing them! A cognitive distortion is a negative or false view of self, others or even God. We have all had people or situations that caused us to conclude something negative about ourselves. These lead to limiting beliefs, which get in the way of your purpose. Negative cognitions will inform how we live our lives and relate to others.

Cognitive distortions are also called automatic thoughts or negative thoughts. When we are doing “self research” as my daughter calls it, then we need to pay attention to automatic thoughts. What are you saying to yourself? Are you hard on yourself? Do you tend to be defensive? Asking yourself, “why?” is the question of the day!

Better Decisions

When my kids were younger, I would often remind them to make good choices. Let me give an example of what I mean… A past client came to realize that she was managing other people’s emotions and not tending to her own. Once she began to realize co-workers were taking advantage of this, she made a goal to learn more about boundaries. She got really good at boundaries. Consequently, she made better decisions about how to spend her time.

Know Your Personal Values

What are your personal values? What do you value in the area of faith, family, ministry or work? Self awareness lends to knowing your personal values or internal standards. This clarity will help guide you in how you spend your time and how you prioritize your life. When we know and live out our values we will experience more joy and peace.

Achieve Personal Goals

Earlier we talked about limiting beliefs- beliefs that keep us stuck or from doing certain things. Do you have some goals that you have been struggling to achieve? Start asking yourself “why”. You may have some negative cognitions that are leading you straight into self sabotage or keeping you frozen and unable to move forward. The self awareness worksheets will help you get started on checking goals off your personal to-do list.

Positive Relationships

Someone who is excellent self awareness has excellent relationships! When you know yourself well, you are less likely to attach meaning to things that other people do or say. Additionally, you are more likely to to effectively communicate your thoughts, feelings and desires. They also have an accurate view of others- helping them discern the safe and trustworthy people in their life. A self-aware person is awesome at setting boundaries, which is making rules for themselves. Consequently, relationships are less chaotic, more predictable and calm. The words and actions don’t rattle the cofidence of a self aware person. Does this sound like a benefit worth the effort of doing self research?

Sense of Confidence

Someone who is self aware is more likely to lean into their best possible self. Without self awareness we are more likely to struggle with low self-esteem. We are not talking about perfection, but we are talking about progress. Someone who has done the work of identifying cognitive distortions in their life has an accurate view of their value as someone made in the image of God. As a result, they are more likely to have a healthy self-esteem because they know their positive qualities. If I asked you what your positive qualities are, would you be able to answer?

Improved Mental Health

We have beliefs about ourself, others and God. If those beliefs are inaccurate or distorted (see above) then it will guide our thoughts. As a result, negative beliefs cause negative thoughts, then negative emotions and finally, negative reactions. As soon as we start doing some self research, we can diagnose the problem. Once we have the problem firmed up, then we can more easily find the solution. Self awareness most definitely improves mental health and is possibly the most important thing you can do to make needed changes in your life.

Live in the Present Moment

A self aware person is so comfortable in their own skin, they are more able to rest and be present in the moment. They are fully aware of their shortcomings, areas of needed growth and their strengths. Self research helps us to accurately evaluate where we are and where to go from here. This understanding includes the ability to live in the moment- without needing to race around to fix ourselves or relationships. We can recognize this is a lifelong journey.

Self-Awareness Activities

There are lots of different ways to increase self awareness. We are going to talk a bit about strengths-spotting exercises and gratitude journaling. Then we will get into the 50 self awareness worksheet questions.

Strengths-Spotting Exercises

This might sound like a fancy word, but I promise that it is more simple than it sounds and it’s a great way to get to know yourself. Most of us have a tendency to focus in on our weaknesses. We do this through comparison, negative self talk, unrealistic expectations and forgetting the strengths. In order to begin strength spotting, I would encourage you to make a promise to yourself that you will spend an equal amount of time naming your strengths and God given gifts as you do being hard on yourself. You may be surprised to find that you default to identifying your weaknesses instead of identifying your strengths. Take it one step further by writing down your strengths or compliments that you receive from others. It is very possible that you have a negative cognition in your mind and heart.

Gratitude Journal

Another great way to increase self awareness is through gratitude journaling. Like strengths spotting, you would be focusing on the good things going on in your life. That may be naming or journaling your gifts and talents. Additionally, expressing gratitude can help you better understand yourself, others and the world around you. Giving thanks in all circumstances is a calling on our lives- it’s part of God’s best for His people.

Worksheet for Self Awareness {50 Questions}

Below is a list of simple questions designed to help you get to know you. We have covered so many benefits of you being an expert on you! Now it’s time to lean in and answer simple questions- a fun way to get to know yourself better. You can consider this a type of DIY for cognitive behavioral therapy. These questions will help you identify cognitive distortions, which will negatively impact how you do life and relationships. Don’t miss out on this great tool- download the 50 self awareness worksheets.

Check out the following questions from the free worksheets download…

50 Self-Awareness Worksheet Questions

1.How do I deal with disappointment in relationships?

2.When do I pray the most/least?

3.How do I connect with God?

4.How well do I take responsibility?

5.What makes me feel defensive?

6.How/when do I compare myself to others?

7.What gets in the way of time with God?

8.What is God teaching me lately?

9.What area do I desire to grow in my life?

10.How would my friends describe me?

11.How do I want to be described?

12.What has been my greatest disappointment?

13.When is it hard to say no?

14.When do I tend to engage in pleasing people?

15.When do I make assumptions about others’ thoughts/feelings?

16.How do I react to others’ defensiveness?

17.When do I tend to hide from God?

18.When do I tend to hide from others?

19.How do I overcome fear?

20.How do I respond to storms in life?

21.How do I resolve conflict?

22.What do I avoid?

23.When am I most angry?

24.What do I attach my value/self worth to?

25.How easily do I forgive others?

26. How do I deal with rejection?

27. How do I respond when someone is judgemental?

28. How do I respond to difficult relationships/people?

29. How do I respond when my plans are interrupted?

30. What is my attitude when hard things come my way?

31. What is my response/reaction when I am offended?

32. How do I handle a lack of appreciation from others?

33. How do I handle a lack of control?

34. How do I react/feel when I make a mistake?

35. How do I react when things don’t go my way?

36. How do I spend my time?

37. What do I need more of in my life?

38. What kind of things do I say to myself?

39. What do I need to do less of?

40. How do I manage stress?

41. How do I react to change?

42. What gets in the way of achieving my goals?

43. What’s missing from my life?

44. What expectations have I placed on myself?

45. Are my expectations of self/others reasonable?

46. What do I fear/worry/stress about?

47. How do I set boundaries?

48. How do I deal with overwhelm?

49.When do I tend to procrastinate?

50.How do I prioritize my time?

Wrapping Up Self-Awareness Worksheets

Are you ready to establish a new skill? Our daily lives are the perfect research lab to learn more about the deep waters of our heart. When you try new, fun activities to learn more about yourself, remember to be patient. Perfection is NOT part of the process, rather look at this self-discovery journey as a life long process with no time frame for an ending. We are all learning, growing and becoming increasingly mature in every way. Download the self awareness worksheets to help you develop a new habit of asking yourself reflective questions to help you grow in your knowledge of who you are- strengths, weaknesses, the good and the bad. Let it guide the areas you will be intentional in growing. Additionally let it guide your relationships, how your set boundaries, prioritize your time and resources.

Get 164 Mental Health Journaling Prompts