Self-awareness is a personal understanding of the very core of one‟s own identity. Self-awareness includes our recognition of ourselves, our character, strengths, weaknesses, desires and dislikes. 

Dimensions of Self Awareness 

(a) Self–realization: Self-realization in the ultimate of self-awareness. It occurs when one understands one‟s self and the reason for one‟s existence in the world. 

(b) Self-knowledge or self-exploration: 

This is a process through which we undo or explore ourselves. This exploration, understanding and knowledge are regarding three areas:- 

(i) Physical self- knowledge about our own body; 

(ii) Social self – knowledge about how we relate and interact with society; whether we are social, extroverts or introverts; helping nature; empathetic, etc. 

(iii) Inner self– knowledge about our goals, dreams, aspirations, secrets, fears, etc. 

(c) Self-Esteem: Self-esteem or self-worth includes a person‟s subjective appraisal of himself or herself as intrinsically positive or negative to some degree. Developing high self- esteem would improve our self-confidence, the way we look at ourselves, what we can do for ourselves, our well-being, our relationships and our happiness. 

(d) Self-confidence: Self-confidence builds on self-esteem and this is possible only when one is completely aware about one‟s abilities and limits. Success, appreciation, care, love etc., are factors that boost one‟s self-confidence. 

(e) Self-talk: There are automatic thoughts that can be positive or negative. There are endless talks and conversations that run through our minds throughout the day. Some of our self- talk comes from logic and reason. Other self-talk may arise from misconceptions that we create because of the lack of information. Self-talk is an important strategy for raising ones‟ selfconfidence, only if one practises positive thinking. 

(f) Self-Motivation: Self-motivation is what makes an individual work towards a goal or target, not for external reasons but because of his/her own internal will. It is an important quality required by everybody to do various activities like studying, working, earning and building relationships. 

(g) Self-Image: Self-image is how one perceives himself/herself – positively or negatively. Self-image is important because, how one feels and thinks about himself/herself effects the way he/she acts. Self-image about our body is called body image, which is very often a cause for low self-esteem. By body image, one keeps in mind both internal and external aspects. 

(h) Self-Control: The ability to control one‟s thoughts, emotions, urges, desires, fantasies, actions is called self-control. It is part of will power, and includes delayed gratification. 

(i) Self-Purpose: This is the ability to find a purpose for ourselves in relation to this world.  

(j) Individuality and Uniqueness: Human beings are born with different qualities inherent and later, they acquire some as they live and learn. This helps individuals to become unique in skills giving them an identity of their own. 

(k) Personality: Personality can be defined as the distinctive and characteristic patterns of thought, emotion and behaviour that define an individual‟s personal style of interacting with the physical and social environment. Personality has various dimensions, including our openness, conscientiousness, attitudes, etc. 

(l) Values: Value is a concept that describes the beliefs of an individual or culture. Love, care, courage, bravery, respect, integrity and compassion, and respecting elders are examples of values.