12 Self-Awareness Exercises That Fuel Success

Emotions create powerful physical and behavioral responses that are more complex than "happy" or "sad." Putting your feelings into words has a therapeutic effect on your brain; if you're unable to articulate how you feel, that can create stress. Here's a great list of "feeling words" to help with labeling your emotions. Increase your emotional vocabulary with one new word each day.

The ability to say "no" to yourself to put off short-term gratification for the long-term gain is an important life-skill . Like a muscle, it is strengthened with exercise. The more you practice saying "no" to small daily challenges, the better you can withstand major temptations.

There are plenty of daily temptations -- social media, junk food, gossiping, Youtube. Make a goal of saying "no" to five different temptations each day.

A person without self-awareness runs on auto-pilot, and responds with knee-jerk reactions. Self-awareness allows you to assess situations objectively and rationally, without acting on biases and stereotypes.

Take a deep breath before you act, especially when a situation triggers anger or frustration. This gives you time to re-assess whether your response will be the best one.

Nobody is perfect. Being aware of your flaws, but failing to accept accountability, is leaving the job half-done. We're often critical of others, while ignorant of our own flaws. Self-awareness helps turn the mirror on ourselves and prevents hypocritical behavior.

Iteration and self-improvement only happens once you recognize a flaw. Create a habit of acknowledging your mistakes , rather than making excuses.

There is non-stop commentary in our heads that is not always helpful. A little bit of negative self-talk can spiral into stress and depression.

Pay attention to the way you respond to your successes and failures - do you pass off your achievements as luck? And crucify yourself after failures? Positive and negative feedback-loops will form in your mind based off how you respond to successes and failures. Being tough on yourself needs to be balanced with self-compassion . Celebrate your wins, forgive your losses.

Watching yourself on video can be a cringeworthy experience, but awareness of your body language, posture, and mannerisms improves your confidence .

Slouching, or taking a "low-power-pose" increases cortisol and feeds low self-esteem , while standing tall or taking a "high-power-pose" stimulates testosterone and improves your performance. Using hand gestures helps with articulating your thoughts and affects how people respond to you.

Knowing your personality type allows you to maximize your strengths and manage your weaknesses. Understanding your "strengths" and "talents" can be the difference between a good choice, and a great choice. (Strengths are skills and knowledge that can be acquired, while talents are innate).

We all have blind spots in our thinking patterns and behaviors. Asking for regular constructive feedback cuts through any self-deceit or one-dimensional views you might hold. But only ask people you'd consider mentors - those who understand you; whom you respect; and will tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear.