…thanks to that process peculiar to intoxication which makes a new euphoria bloom from the collapse and dulling of the previous euphoria
-Italo Calvino, If on a Winter’s Night a Traveler
Being Present; Being Aware. These are elevated states of being.
The quote above was the Genesis for this post… the visuals that text provides — that we go from one euphoria that sparkles and fades…. to another. Considering these states to each be a variety of intoxication - not necessarily meaning being under the influence of a substance, but rather, so caught up in the moment that it brings you [intoxicating] joy.
The beauty of awareness is that it is both a hedonistic experience (seek pleasure; avoid pain), but also a eudaimonic experience (meaning of life; self-realization).
Awareness
Awareness could get reduced to simply ‘being present in the moment’. While this is a great wellness practice, additional growth (and agency) can come from harnessing that awareness by chaining an action. Today we’ll discuss a few situations where awareness plays a role and then explore ways to consider stacking a developmental habit chain on these moments.
Hypothesis:
Awareness is the critical element behind all meaningful change.
Awareness alone provides value in practicing recognition of thoughts, emotions, behaviors - or other elements that describe the ‘current state’. Having a mindful practice where you allow yourself to be aware, yet choose to not act is, itself, a powerful exercise to provide calm and clarity to oneself. This brief essay’s look at awareness-as-a-catalyst-for-change is not intended to challenge that value of awareness!
Situations where you are present; aware…
Self Awareness: Recognizing and understanding your emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. It includes knowledge of your values, strengths, weaknesses, and triggers.
Social Awareness: Understanding [and responding] to the emotions and needs of others. This includes the traits of 'empathy’, ‘compassion’, ‘reading social cues’, and generally navigating social situations effectively.
Self-Awareness + Social Awareness = Emotional Awareness — the ability to perceive and understand the emotions of yourself and others - helping you to have more meaningful discussions.
Environmental Awareness: Being conscious of the physical environment, your surroundings, and the impact of your actions. This includes being aware of ecological issues and promoting sustainability practices.
Cultural Awareness: Recognize and appreciate cultural similarities and differences. This promotes respect and understanding when in diverse social settings.
A cousin of Cultural Awareness is Organizational Awareness - understanding the dynamics within a group or organization, including its culture, values, and power structures.
Temporal Awareness: Simply being aware that time is passing. Understanding time and its passage means being aware of deadlines, schedules, and other time-related events.
Digital Awareness: Understanding how to use technology responsibly. Being aware of digital footprints. Being aware of online privacy (or lack thereof). Being aware of digital interactions.
Health Literacy: Being aware of health information to make informed health decisions. This means being informed adequately to participate in shared decision making - or to know what questions to ask of the healthcare provider.
Media Literacy: Being aware that media content may influence perceptions or behavior. This includes recognizing bias, misinformation [or perhaps intentional disinformation]. (there was a good article in the Economist earlier this year on disinformation - intentional misinformation)
Then consider that there are levels of psychological awareness - levels of consciousness where processing occurs -
preconscious [memory and knowledge that you can recall],
subconscious [not in active awareness, but influence our actions],
conscious [being fully aware of thoughts, feelings, surroundings],
unconscious [thoughts, memories, and desires out of conscious awareness; often repressed] , and
supraconscious [higher states of awareness; spiritual experiences; connection feeling to the greater whole].
How to habit chain awareness to something else…
the subtitle of this post was a different version of “attention is all you need”
…that was a tongue in cheek reference to Google’s paper in 2017 that started the current models of Generative AI … a slightly different type of attention - machine attention, but attention was the basis for the next action. You see, GPT models work by predicting what will come next, based on their pretraining.
You too can take awareness as an anchor to ponder what action will come next.
If you commonly choose to do similar next steps, you’ll train yourself (“become pre-trained”, or if you prefer to think of yourself less as a computer and more as a human - “habit chain”).
James Clear, in Atomic Habits, set out the 4 things you need to create a habit - 1- make it obvious- 2- make it attractive- 3- make it easy- 4- make it satisfying
A habit chain is simply once you find yourself in that ‘bloom of euphoria’ that comes when you are in an elevated state of awareness/presence - transition into something else, before the bloom of euphoria fades. That ‘something else’ can be complex or simple - even though it needs to be ‘easy’ doesn’t mean it has to be ‘basic’.
for example: a little over a decade ago I took a mindfulness based stress reduction course because I found myself flirting with pre-hypertension (high-ish blood pressure). The course taught me self awareness for the way my body felt - and I began to be acutely aware when my shoulders would tighten. At this moment of awareness I would reflect on what might have triggered this tightness, but also immediately begin a brief stop-breathe-be exercise, to briefly disengage with the trigger in favor of self-care. Once my limbic system was back in check - I’d go back and deconstruct what triggered me - often times seeking to accept whatever triggered me instead of rejecting it (in many cases subconsciously/preconsciously - that only became conscious when I thought about them).
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You can also take time to think about the moments you were present/aware - perhaps as you meditate or otherwise process through the ‘backlog’ of unprocessed mind-debt.
A conversation didn’t feel quite right with a coworker… [cultural, social, organizational awareness]
You received a text message from an unknown number… [digital awareness]
You see a quote that is being used to represent a political stance… consider questioning the context, source, and whether it was mis/disinformation. [media literacy, digital awareness] — even if it was a realistic video, be aware of deepfakes.
How do you habit chain when you come into a state of being present or aware?
…
An added bonus - the “8 Awarenesses”
Cecily Mak created ClearLife, based on the concepts she describes as the 8 Awarenesses - an alternative framework to traditional 12 step programs. She creatively adapted and modified and expanded upon certain values / adoptive principles (which she calls awarenesses) through which a clear life (ClearLife) could be lived.
Awareness 1: My life is better ‘clear’
Awareness 2: I choose what I consume
Awareness 3: My intuition defines my priorities and I pursue a life that reflects them
Awareness 4: I seek to understand my trauma, but I do not make it my identity
Awareness 5: Forgiveness, ownership + apology, and letting go are on the path to freedom
Awareness 6: I do not judge or impose my orientations upon others
Awareness 7: Time is our most precious currency
Awareness 8: Seek ways to support others, particularly in times of abundance
… I find her work in this space to be both creative and insightful.
Thanks for reading!