College Success Tip #13

Self Awareness

 

What is self awareness?       

Self awareness is a way for us to explore our individual personalities, value systems, beliefs, natural inclinations, and tendencies.  Because we are all different in the way we react to things, learn, and synthesize information, it’s helpful to occasionally spend time in self-reflection to gain a better insight into ourselves.

Why is self awareness important?

Self awareness is important because when we have a better understanding of ourselves, we are empowered to make changes and to build on our areas of strength as well as identify areas where we would like to make improvements. Self-awareness is often a first step to goal setting. 

Examples of self awareness:

• Preferred learning styles
• Aptitude for specific career fields
• Natural academic ability (athletics, mathematics, English, etc.)
• Personality traits (introvert, extrovert, sensitive, judgmental, etc.)
• Religious beliefs
• Political viewpoints
• Values (ethical, with integrity, scrupulous, etc.)

Internal links for self awareness

As a College of the Canyons student, you have access to classes through counseling that provide instruction on learning styles and other areas where we need self reflection. The health center offers workshops and information on various ways of making healthy choices, as well as offering counseling to students who need someone to talk to. The career center offers career assessment which helps students to understand the areas of employment that they are most suited for based on their skills and interests.

College of the Canyons classes

• COUNS 010 (Career Exploration)
• COUNS 110 (Career-Life Planning)
• COUNS 111 (Introduction to College and Strategies for Success)
• COUNS 150 (Personal Development)
• PSYCH 105 (Personal Growth and Adjustment)

The Career Center offers assessment tools to identify talents and strengths and matches careers based on the results.  To find more, visit:

http://www.canyons.edu/offices/careercenter/CareerAssessment.asp

External links for self awareness

http://search.dartmouth.edu/query.html?qt=Self+awareness

http://www.studygs.net/conflres.htm

Upcoming workshops on self awareness

Cougar Mentors in the Student Development Office offer various workshops, some that address health issues. For more information call 661-362-3141 or email cougarmentor@canyons.edu or go to www.canyons.edu/offices/student_development/src

Sources:

1. The Community College Experience by Amy Baldwin (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005).

2. Cornerstone: Building on Your Best, 4^th Ed., by Robert M. Sherfield, Rhonda J. Montgomery, and Patricia G. Moody (Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2005).

3. Becoming a Master Student, 10^th Ed., by Dave Ellis (Houghton Mifflin Company, 2003).

4.  Study Guides and Strategies, http://www.studygs.net/index.htm.

5. Dartmouth’s Academic Skills Center, http://www.dartmouth.edu/~acskills/success/index.html.