From "First Things First" by Stephen Covey with A. Roger Merrill and Rebecca R. Merrill:Self-awareness involves deep personal honesty. It comes from asking and answering hard questions:
Do I really want to do it?
Am I willing to pay the price?
Do I have enough strength to do it?
Do I accept the responsibility for my own growth?
Am I settling for mediocrity when I could be achieving excellence?
Am I blaming and accusing others for my own inability to set and achieve goals?
Self-awareness prompts us to start where we are -- no illusions, no excuses -- and helps us to set realistic goals. On the other hand, it also doesn't allow us to cop out with mediocrity. It helps us recognize and respect our need to stretch, to push the limits, to grow. Since much of our frustration in life comes as a result of unmet expectations, the ability to set goals that are both realistic and challenging goes a long way toward empowering us to create peace and positive growth in our lives.
Self-awareness is ear to the voice of conscience. It helps us to recognize that there are principles independent to us, to understand the futility of trying to become a law unto ourselves. It helps us to be humble and open to growth and change, to realize that we are neither omniscient nor omnipotent when we get a goal. To the best of our awareness at the time, out of all good things we could do, we choose the best thing, for the best reason, and we plan to do it in the best way.