by Police - Bureau of Police Research and Development

The Indian Police Journalresponse, thus improving his chances of handling it in an appropriatemanner. People incapable of soothing themselves have to constantly back more quickly from life setbacks. This is not an easy skill asemotions often appear in disguise as with a parent yelling at a childfor running onto the road, anger borne out of anxiety. Yet, for all itscomplexity, self-awareness is the most crucial skill, says Goleman, asit allows us to exercise self-control. It also allows people to developcoping mechanisms during period of intense emotional upsurge. Forinstance, going out for a brisk jog when one is feeling tense may be atrigger response in the body mind that is incompatible with the earlier reviews. Persons with this quality know about their limitations andstrengths and they often demonstrate a thirst for constructive criticism.However, people with a low degree of self-awareness interpret themessage that they need to improve as a threat or a sign of failure. risks they take on the job are calculated. They will never ask for achallenging task that they know they cannot handle. The key tosuccess is knowing oneself. Self-awareness is knowing one’s internalstates, preferences, resources, institutions, etc. It indicates the ability torecognize, understand and accept one’s own moods, emotions, drives,strengths and shortcomings as well as to see how these affect otherpeople. According to Goleman, self-awareness includes the followingthree important steps:• Emotional awareness: It means recognizing one’s emotions andbecoming aware of how their feelings and emotions affect theiras well as other’s performance.• Accurate self-assessment: It refers to a candid sense of one’spersonal strengths and weaknesses. One becomes aware of experience, show interest for self-development.• These people are decisive, assertive and have a strong sense ofone’s self-worth.January - March, 2013171