Keeping the awareness alive

One of the main and immediate goals of coaching is to create awareness and clarity.

Awareness is the ‘must have’ ingredient, without which one can not proceed, consciously, to develop steps, plans for improvement, for tackling an issue, or for following a path or a dream.

Once you reach awareness of a new situation, solution, in the process of coaching or in any relationship, one question comes to mind, before the obvious “what next”?

The question is what are the best ways to keep that awareness 'alive', that 'lesson' vivid, that clarity sustainable, so that you can add and improve on it for bettering the future?

Keeping new awareness or lessons alive after a breakthrough in coaching or relationships is essential for growth and continuous improvement. Here are some strategies to help maintain that awareness:

Daily Reflection or Journaling

Writing helps solidify insights by translating thoughts into words. It allows you to revisit the lesson and see how it applies to everyday life.

Dedicate a few minutes each day to reflect on how the awareness manifests in your actions, thoughts, and emotions. Ask yourself questions like, "How did I apply this new awareness today?" or "What did I learn from this situation?"

Create Visual or Physical Reminders

Tangible cues act as prompts to remind you of your newfound awareness. Creating these cues is easy and can be adapted to what fits and helps you best.

Use sticky notes, visual art, or an object that symbolizes the lesson. Place it somewhere visible in your daily routine. This constant reminder will keep the awareness fresh in your mind.

Reinforce with Action

Putting insights into practice reinforces them. Without action, the chances are that the new awareness will fade away, and no new results will be achieved.

Identify specific actions you can take to apply this new awareness. Small, consistent actions based on the lesson help cement it. For example, if you’ve realized the importance of listening in relationships, set a goal to actively listen in conversations throughout the day.

Regular Check-ins with a Coach or Accountability Partner

External accountability helps ensure that insights are not forgotten. It also keeps us staying on track.

Schedule regular follow-up sessions with a coach or involve a trusted friend or partner who can check in with you about your progress. These conversations keep the awareness present and ensure that you’re taking steps to integrate it. It also deepens it and enriches it with new pieces of awareness and understanding as you keep discussing and deepening the exploration of ‘what is’.

Mindfulness and Meditation

Staying present helps deepen and sustain awareness over time. It helps focusing on the right thing, and avoiding to ‘getting lost’ into diverting thoughts.

Develop a mindfulness practice where you consciously reconnect with the lesson. Use meditation to focus on how this awareness impacts your emotions, decisions, and relationships. Find times, places and ways to calm down and reflect on what matters to you.

Develop New Habits or Routines

Consistency in behaviour creates new patterns that embed the lesson into your life.

Form new habits that are aligned with the awareness. For example, if you realized the importance of self-care, make it a habit to set aside time for self-care activities daily or weekly.

Teach or Share the Insight

Teaching deepens understanding and reinforces knowledge. It also increases further inquiry and curiosity.

Share your new awareness with someone else, whether through conversation, writing, or mentoring. Explaining the insight to others forces you to revisit and refine it, making it more deeply ingrained. It also strengthens your commitment and motivation to keep going.

Link the Insight to Your Values and Vision

Connecting the lesson to your deeper values makes it more meaningful and long-lasting.

Reflect on how this awareness aligns with your core values or long-term vision for your life or relationships. By tying the insight to what truly matters to you, you’ll be more motivated to keep it alive and evolving.

Celebrate Small Wins and Progress

Acknowledging progress strengthens the habit of applying the new awareness.

Recognize and celebrate when you successfully implement the lesson. This positive reinforcement makes you more likely to continue integrating the awareness into your daily life.

Keeping awareness alive is about creating a system of reminders, actions, and reflections that reinforce the lesson. By doing so, you ensure that the insight doesn’t fade, but instead becomes a part of who you are and how you approach life or relationships.

There are many reading references and empirical studies that provide support for the concepts mentioned above/ Let me know if you might be interested in any of those, I'll be more than glad to share.

And share your thoughts with me, too, it would be great.