You may have heard the term self-awareness, but what is it and why does it matter?

Being self-aware can influence how you feel in your job and in your personal life. Daniel Goleman takes that connection much further, saying self-awareness is the key to success. He describes self-awareness as “knowing one’s internal (内在的)states, preference and resources”, and then monitoring that “inner world” information as it comes up. If you can be as aware of your feelings and thoughts, you’ll be better able to deal with new situations. Because you know yourself better, you’ll be more accepting of yourself, your thoughts and your feelings, Goleman says.

But self-awareness doesn’t stop at how you see yourself. It’s also understanding and acknowledging how others see you. Tasha Eurich, an organizational psychologist, explains that self-awareness has two parts — internal and external (外部的). Internal self-awareness means we can clearly see our own values, thoughts, passions and feelings. External self-awareness is clearly seeing how others see us. People who are externally self-aware tend to be better leaders.

So how do you know if you’re self-aware or not? Eurich developed a short online quiz to help. You’re not the only one who has to take it. Someone who knows you well also has to answer questions about you.

In a recent TED Talk, Eurich refers to self-awareness unicorns. This group makes up only a small part of all the people she has studied. These are people who not only believe they are self-aware, but other people who know them would agree. Additionally, these unicorns would say they have improved their self-awareness in their lives and again, those who know them well would agree.

Thankfully, anyone can become more self-aware, as long as they’re willing to devote some time and effort to the cause.

【小题1】According to Daniel Goleman, a self-aware person ________.

A．feels dissatisfied with his life	B．has a burning desire for success
C．avoids challenging new situations	D．handles his self-information well

【小题2】In Eurich’s theory, what helps make a better leader?

A．External self-awareness.	B．Clear thinking.
C．Sharp understanding.	D．Internal self-awareness.

【小题3】How does Eurich’s quiz assess one’s self-awareness?

A．By setting criteria for answers.

B．By measuring others’ reactions.

C．By analyzing only quiz-takers’ questions.

D．By matching internal and external opinions.

【小题4】What can be inferred about unicorns from the 5^th paragraph?

A．They are born experts.	B．They fail to get approval.
C．They are rare talents.	D．They try to please others.