🌿 Awaken Your Awareness

Day 1 of the EI Boost Challenge

By Stephanie Johnson, Cornerstone Training & Consulting

There’s an old saying that still grounds me: “When you know better, you do better.”

I’ve learned—sometimes the hard way—that awareness truly is the starting point for growth. It’s not just about knowing facts or mastering skills. It’s about seeing yourself clearly: your patterns, your triggers, your emotional fingerprints.

Self-awareness is the foundation of emotional intelligence. Without it, everything else—communication, empathy, discipline—rests on shaky ground.

Stephen Covey’s timeless “See–Do–Get” model reminds us that how we see the world determines what we do—and what we ultimately get in life. Our perceptions shape our choices, and our choices shape our outcomes. But here’s the catch: if my perception is distorted by bias, fear, or assumption, my actions will follow suit.

That’s why I continue to work on aligning how I see things with how things truly are. Because when my lens is clouded, my leadership, relationships, and results all reflect that lack of clarity. Awareness clears the fog.

Every day gives us an opportunity to practice awareness in small moments—like pausing before reacting. That pause creates space to choose differently. It transforms “I always” into “Maybe this time, I’ll try another way.”

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Today’s challenge is simple:👉 Reflect on one moment when you paused before reacting.

What did you notice?

What shifted when you gave yourself that moment of awareness?

Use your Self-Awareness Journal to capture those insights. Write what you felt, what you thought, and what you chose to do differently. The goal isn’t perfection—it’s progress through presence.

Awakening your awareness is more than an exercise. It’s a way of living with intention. It’s the beginning of emotional mastery .And it all starts with that one pause.