How Self-Awareness Can Unblock a Stalled Career
At various stages in our professional lives, many of us reach a point where our careers seem to stall. We might feel as though we’re expending effort without seeing progress, or we may struggle to find satisfaction and fulfillment in our roles. Often, we look to external factors—like the industry, the economy, or even our manager’s attitude—for solutions to move forward. But what if the key to unlocking a stalled career lies within ourselves, in an area often overlooked: self-awareness?
This article will explore the transformative role of self-awareness in reviving a career, drawing on the principles outlined by Openmind, a psychometric tool that sheds light on both conscious and non-conscious responses. Openmind reveals insights into our explicit attitudes (the views we’re aware of) and our implicit attitudes (the unconscious reactions we might overlook). By understanding and integrating these layers of self-awareness, we can align our professional efforts with our true self, breaking free from stagnation.
The Dual Layers of Self-Awareness
Self-awareness is typically considered an awareness of one’s strengths, weaknesses, preferences, and quirks. However, true self-awareness also includes understanding the non-conscious mind—the implicit beliefs and attitudes that often dictate our behavior without us realizing it. According to Openmind, while explicit attitudes represent our conscious self-perception, implicit attitudes reveal automatic, deeply ingrained responses developed from our experiences and environment.
This duality explains why self-awareness is so crucial in a professional setting. We may consciously strive to act a certain way, but unconscious biases, fears, or motivations often drive our actions. For instance, someone may consciously believe they are open to feedback but unconsciously feel defensive. Recognizing and reconciling these differences between our conscious and non-conscious responses can help us identify the true roadblocks in our careers.
Identifying and Tackling Internal Career Blocks
When our career seems stagnant, it’s easy to assume the problem is external. But often, the roadblocks are internal, stemming from misalignments between our conscious goals and our unconscious attitudes. Here’s how a deeper self-awareness can address some common internal barriers:
Fear of Failure and Low Risk Tolerance
Careers often stall when we avoid taking risks or shy away from new challenges. For many, this is rooted in an implicit fear of failure. While we may consciously aspire to advance or take on leadership roles, a non-conscious aversion to risk can prevent us from seizing opportunities. Openmind can help by surfacing these implicit fears, allowing us to address them directly. By acknowledging and reframing our relationship with failure, we can build the resilience necessary to pursue growth without the shackles of fear.
Overvaluation of Stability Over Growth
Many professionals reach a comfortable plateau in their careers. This plateau can turn into a trap if we unconsciously equate stability with success. Through self-awareness, we can discern whether our attachment to stability is serving us or merely holding us back. If we recognize that our implicit drive for stability is hindering growth, we can recalibrate our approach—perhaps by pursuing projects or roles that introduce manageable levels of uncertainty, stimulating both personal and professional development.
Unconscious Bias Against Learning
Continuous learning is crucial for career progression, yet not everyone actively pursues it. Some professionals may consciously value knowledge and development but feel resistant when it comes time to invest effort in learning. Openmind highlights implicit attitudes toward learning, especially if we unconsciously associate it with vulnerability or inadequacy. Realigning our conscious and non-conscious views on learning can unlock a willingness to embrace new skills, ultimately paving the way for career advancement.
Low Implicit Value on Networking and Relationship-Building
Networking is often cited as a key component of career growth, but if we hold implicit biases against networking, we may avoid it without fully understanding why. Openmind allows us to explore these non-conscious attitudes, such as fear of appearing insincere or concern about social rejection. By becoming aware of these biases, we can intentionally work to overcome them, understanding that relationship-building is as much about mutual support and connection as it is about career progress.
Developing Self-Awareness with Openmind
Openmind provides a framework to bring implicit attitudes to the forefront, transforming vague feelings or instincts into actionable insights. This psychometric tool assesses key personality dimensions—such as openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuro-balance—to show how our conscious and non-conscious selves may align or diverge. Below are some steps for using self-awareness to realign career goals with personal fulfillment:
Identify Implicit Misalignments
Openmind can reveal instances where our explicit and implicit responses differ significantly. For example, a professional might explicitly view themselves as highly organized but feel chaotic or unstructured on an implicit level. Recognizing these discrepancies encourages us to ask reflective questions like, “What aspects of my behavior contribute to this gap?” or “Am I overestimating my strengths to avoid acknowledging weaknesses?” These realizations can help us address underlying habits and attitudes that may be stalling our career.
Recalibrate Your Goals
Through self-awareness, we may discover that certain career aspirations were chosen to meet external expectations rather than personal fulfillment. Using Openmind’s insights, we can better understand our genuine motivations, helping us set goals that align with our authentic self. This recalibration can prevent burnout, as we shift our focus from roles that may not suit us to paths where we can genuinely thrive.
Cultivate Emotional Resilience
Emotional resilience is essential for career success, yet it’s often undermined by implicit fears and anxieties. Openmind’s neuro-balance dimension highlights how we handle stress and emotional challenges. By understanding where our implicit attitudes lean towards anxiety or vulnerability, we can develop resilience-building strategies such as mindfulness, regular reflection, and seeking constructive feedback. As we build resilience, we become better equipped to tackle challenges that would otherwise contribute to career stagnation.
Align Your Perception with Reality
Self-awareness helps us identify areas where we may be overly critical or self-deceptive. For example, we might view ourselves as collaborative, but our non-conscious reactions may reveal a preference for solo work. Aligning our perception with reality allows us to manage our professional relationships more effectively. Openmind encourages us to bridge the gap between our conscious self-image and how others perceive us, enabling us to make adjustments that foster workplace harmony and effectiveness.
Benefits of Self-Awareness for Career Progression
When we develop a comprehensive understanding of both our conscious and non-conscious responses, we unlock the ability to adapt effectively, enhancing our career prospects. Here are some specific ways self-awareness supports career advancement:
Enhanced Decision-Making Skills: By recognizing implicit biases or non-conscious tendencies that affect our decision-making, we can make more informed choices that align with our values and goals.
Improved Communication and Relationship-Building: Self-aware professionals are attuned to how their words and actions affect others. This awareness fosters empathy and responsiveness, essential qualities for building positive relationships in any work environment.
Increased Adaptability: Self-awareness reveals the unconscious patterns that shape how we respond to change. Armed with this knowledge, we can embrace adaptability as a skill, proactively adjusting to new roles, projects, or challenges without fear.
Alignment with Purpose and Fulfillment: Career stalls often occur when our roles are misaligned with our values or strengths. Self-awareness allows us to pursue opportunities that resonate with our deeper motivations, reducing friction and enhancing job satisfaction.
Final Thoughts: The Power of Awareness for Career Rejuvenation
Unlocking a stalled career isn’t solely about acquiring new skills or finding the right mentor. Often, the solution lies in the invisible realm of self-awareness—the conscious and non-conscious attitudes that guide our daily actions. By integrating tools like Openmind into our self-development practice, we gain access to a deeper level of insight, revealing the unconscious drivers behind our professional choices and behaviors.
When we understand our implicit attitudes, we move beyond surface-level self-perception and gain a holistic view of who we are, what we want, and how we interact with the world. This understanding empowers us to transform a stagnant career into a path of continual growth, grounded in authenticity, resilience, and purpose.
In the end, the most significant career advancement strategy may not be what we do but rather who we become. Self-awareness is the key to this transformation, helping us unlock doors that have been closed and reach levels of success and fulfillment previously out of reach.