This is Dr Tasha Eurich’s latest book. This is the first book I listened to with my newest Audible account. I’ve spoken about audiobooks in the past, and back then I wasn’t so excited. However, this time around, I’m sorta loving audiobooks. Although that is another discussion for another post.

Insight: Why We’re Not as Self-Aware as We Think, and How Seeing Ourselves Clearly Helps us succeed at Work and in Life was recently published this May, 2017. I was first made aware of the book through an article by the New Yorker (if I remember correctly) which spoke about Eurich’s understanding of internal and external self awareness and how we can learn more about it. Considering that I am at a bit of a crossroads in my life at the moment—finished my master’s degree, my birthday is coming up, it is already mid-2017, where do I want this blog to go(?)—I felt like it was a good moment to see what Eurich’s book was all about.

Not to get all sappy about this book, but sometimes I wonder if books choose us?

I know, I went there…

This book gives you not only a comprehensive understanding of internal and external self-awareness, which can be summarised as how you see yourself and how you think other people see you, but also a deeper look at self-awareness in relation to work, management, cultural norms, and the psychology behind it. There are some great questions and tips in the Appendix of the book that can help you figure out how you fall on the spectrum of self-awareness. For the brave, there is also a quiz you can take. Be warned, this will mean you and someone of your choosing will rate how self-aware you think you are internally and externally. I did the test and was not really surprised by my answer. In fact, I already knew what I would get: Introspector. And to paraphrase Eurich, this means I am someone who is good at internal self-awareness and pretty bad at judging how others see me. This quiz prompted a conversation with my husband and I, and we both came to the conclusion that I often think people don’t like me, and I lack confidence in how others perceive my abilities. Knowing this, and actually articulating it can do wonders. Even though I knew I had issues with self-confidence and felt so concerned about everyone hating me, actually knowing this, speaking this to myself, and using Eurich’s suggestions to open up my external self-awareness has already been a pretty nice change. It actually can help you see that people actually think you’re alright.

Dr. Tasha Eurich

Whilst this books sounds super ‘self-help-ie’ it is not the usual sort of self help book. And I should know, since usually those books make me want to throw up. This book has a lot of honesty and a lot of practical ways to deal with self awareness. Eurich tackles cultural and gendered issues that can affect our self awareness. Her book only scratches the surface though and there is so much that goes into self awareness that can be interpreted through culture, gender, religion, age, ability, and economic status. I cannot wait to see more of Eurich’s work.

Seriously, if you’re a human who lives on our planet. Get. This. Book.

Have you read any of Eurich’s books? How self aware are you really? Remember as always, to share the reading love.