What comes after Awareness?

I recently noticed that where I try to be very aware of my thinking and how I'm feeling, I don't always do anything constructive with the Awareness. 

I'm always talking about how important Awareness is, because we can't fix what we aren't aware of. But, even I sometimes struggle with taking the next step.

If I'm struggling with this, you might be too! 

So, what does come after awareness? Well, it depends on what your goals are and what you're currently experiencing. 

Sometimes it's much needed allowance and acknowledgement. This looks like embracing the emotions you are feeling and simply allowing them to be there, acknowledging them and letting them pass. This is an active step, not a passive step. 

A passive, non-constructive step would be becoming aware of something and then letting it consume you in a way that keeps you stuck in the emotion or thoughts. It's wallowing in it, if you will. Like standing in the puddle, instead of walking through it. 

If we become aware of a thought that is directing our life in a direction we don't want to go or not-directing us at all, then we should consider what we could think instead. These are usually thoughts like "I don't know how, I don't know what to do next, This won't work, Nothing ever works for me". These thoughts keep us stuck or spinning in place. These thoughts should be challenged and not just accepted like the news. 

This can also look like self-sabotage thinking as well. Things like talking down to yourself or telling yourself you're stupid or not good enough. Again, we want to challenge these thoughts. 

Whatever you discover in your Awareness step, the second step is always to decide intentionally what we want to do with the information. We want this to be a conscious decision about the information. Do we want to just allow the feelings we're experiencing? Do we want to keep thinking this thought? 

It's okay if you decide you do want to keep doing whatever you discovered. We just want to make the decision consciously. We don't want to just continue with the unconscious experience. 

Taking control of what you're experiencing will give you a boost in confidence. You'll feel empowered by taking the initiative to be intentional about what you want. We always get to choose what we want. We just sometimes forget we have the option. Even I forget! 

So, the next time you practice awareness, be sure to also practice the step of intentionally deciding what to do with the information you just discovered.