Self-awareness is key in any type of personal development. Knowing where we can make the changes necessary, and being able to see our progress towards these goals requires a certain ability which must be cultivated through constant practice.

But the challenge can be that when things get busy, this self-awareness is one of the first things to be thrown to the wayside. We can even see this is the language we use to describe getting through a busy time; things like, “Putting your head down and getting through it.” But I’d argue that it is at times like these that vision, both external and internal, is a key to success. Not just in the task at hand, but also in the longer term goals we have set for ourselves.

So how can we tell if we’ve lost this perspective, and our balance has started to slip? Simple, the signs are there, we just need to learn to read them.

Changes in behaviour

Have you noticed a change in your attitudes and behaviours? Things like your temper being a little shorter, your usually acerbic wit being slight more biting, or just a general brittleness about the edges of your everyday thoughts and feelings? All of these can be good signs that your otherwise calm and controlled self may be somewhat off-kilter.

Changes in priorities

Now, I’m most definitely not one to say that everyone will have a fixed schedule or list of priorities. In fact, one of the reasons that I like GTD as a productivity system is because it allows a certain degree of flexibility in this area. However, once you get past the day to day (or week to week) activities, I’d say that most of us have a few priorities of things we’d like to be doing, or that we want to work towards. Say, something like ensuring that you’re posting regularly on your blog. But pay attention if you start to see these goals becoming unattainable for an extended period of time. One week is one thing, but when it becomes more like a month, this is a definite sign that your balance is suffering. If you can’t find the time for something you feel is a priority, then that is definitely a problem.

Changing reactions

This may be one of the easiest to spot, namely because it is less dependent upon us noticing something about ourselves. Rather, this just requires listening to others. Perhaps someone has been asking you why you’re sense of humour has disappeared, or when this urgent project will be done. These and other situations like them are wake-up calls that our actions may be leading us astray from our goals and priorities.

So is recognizing the signs of a problem the solution to a lack of balance? Most definitely not. But we’ve all heard that recognizing that a problem exists is the first step to solving it.

Next week, I’ll go into more detail about how we can find out exactly what the cause of the problem is, and then lead to some solutions.

Cheers,

Adam