Life is a journey with multiple steps along the way. Our personal path brings freedom and awareness to those who are paying attention. Everyday life provides us with a myriad of opportunities that can transform our experiences. When someone in our life rubs us the wrong way, we may find ourselves wanting to walk away and create another path. We might also find ourselves traveling down a different road than the one we have journeyed on before. Sometimes, life feels like a never-ending circle where our actions and choices lead us nowhere, only to bring us back again. It is during these moments that awareness can be the starting point for potential change.

Awareness arises when we are finally able to realize what we are doing and take responsibility for it. We observe ourselves and notice our reactions, actions, and the choices we’ve made—hopefully for the wiser. Awareness is the first step to change. One needs to be conscious and committed at the beginning of understanding why we do what we do, when we do it. It becomes difficult not to change because we are no longer asleep at the wheel, and the truth behind our behavior becomes evident. We also begin to realize that just as much as we are the root source—the cause behind the behavior—we are also the originator of any change that we want to see happen.

There is joy and freedom that come with self-awareness. Rather than thinking that we are stuck in a repetitive cycle with no escape, we can begin to see that we are very much a key player in creating our lives and our outcomes. One of my favorite phrases is the definition of insanity: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome.” With awareness, our path can’t help but propel us forward to new experiences and new ways of being. We can finally move forward, embrace change, and evolve into our best selves.