If you want to create a new self, you first have to stop being the old self.
In the process of creation, the first function of the frontal lobe is to become
self-aware.
Because we have metacognitive capabilities—the power to observe our
own thoughts and self—we can decide how we no longer want to be ... to
think, act, and feel. This ability to self-reflect allows us to scrutinize
ourselves and then make a plan to modify our behaviors so we can produce
more enlightened or desirable outcomes.^2
Your attention is where you place your energy. To use attention to
empower your life, you will have to examine what you’ve already created.
This is where you begin to “know thyself.” You look at your beliefs about
life, yourself, and others. You are what you are, you are where you are, and
you are who you are because of what you believe about yourself. Your
beliefs are the thoughts you keep consciously or unconsciously accepting as
the law in your life. Whether you are aware of them or not, they still affect
your reality.
So if you truly want a new personal reality, start observing all aspects of
your present personality. Since they primarily operate below the level of
conscious awareness, much like automatic software programs, you’ll have
to go within and look at these elements you probably haven’t been aware of
before. Given that your personality comprises how you think, act, and feel,
you must pay attention to your unconscious thoughts, reflexive behaviors,
and automatic emotional reactions—put them under observation to
determine if they are true and whether you want to continue to endorse
them with your energy.
To become familiar with your unconscious states of mind and body takes
an act of will, intention, and heightened awareness. If you become more
aware, you will become more attentive. If you become more attentive, you
will be more conscious. If you grow to be more conscious, you will notice
more. If you notice more, you have a greater ability to observe self and
others, both inner and outer elements of your reality. Ultimately, the more
you observe, the more you awaken from the state of the unconscious mind
into conscious awareness.
The purpose of becoming self-aware is so that you no longer allow any
thought, action, or emotion you don’t want to experience to pass by your