Observe
Marcus Aurelius, while leading the Roman Empire, returned to presence by remembering he had power over his mind, not over external events.
Becoming the Witness of Your Own Life
Most people live inside their patterns without ever truly seeing them. They move through their days on autopilot, reacting, responding, repeating, rarely pausing long enough to notice how they are moving through their own life.
Cultivating awareness is the practice of stepping just far enough back from yourself to see clearly. When you begin paying attention to your own behavior, actions, temperament, habits, emotional loops, and energetic responses, you are no longer ruled by them. You begin to understand them. And understanding creates choice.
This is a practical discipline. Noticing reveals the habits that quietly shape your outcomes, the emotional triggers that pull you off center, and the behaviors that stall or move you forward. It also brings into focus the subtle ways you squander your most valuable resources, time, attention, energy, focus., through unconscious patterns, overextension, avoidance, and misalignment.
The Personal Witness Practice
Becoming your own witness means creating a daily relationship with your inner data. This can be written or recorded. It does not need to be polished, just honest. Each day, capture what you notice:
How you showed up
What pulled at your energy
What strengthened it
Where you acted in alignment
Where you didn’t
What felt expansive or constrictive
Over time, values become clearer. Your mission stops feeling abstract. Purpose becomes something you practice.
Looking at Your Life Frame by Frame
You are no longer trapped inside the moment. You are the one who sees it. -CG Excellence
Think of the viewers we held as children, the ones with the circular reel of images. Each click revealed a single frozen moment. You were not inside the scene. You were looking at it. Mindful attention allows you to relate to your own life in the same way, frame by frame. Instead of being emotionally entangled, you are holding it, examining it, learning from it, and moving forward with greater understanding.
Finding the Space Between Stimulus and Response
Stephen Covey described the pause between what happens to us and how we respond as our greatest human freedom. That pause does not appear automatically. It becomes visible through conscious awareness. Without it, we react from habit. With it, we pause. And in that pause, identity is shaped. You are not your reaction. You are the one who can see the reaction.
Marcus Aurelius practiced this form of inner clarity in real time. Even while leading an empire, he returned to presence by remembering he had power over his mind, not over external events.
Emotional Regulation: The Moment Awareness Becomes Power
The space between stimulus and response is filled with emotion. A surge of frustration, a tightening in the chest, the impulse to defend or withdraw. Most people lose their freedom here from not knowing how to regulate their internal state. Noticing allows you to see what you are feeling. Emotional regulation allows you to remain who you are while you are feeling it.
This is self-leadership in real time.
When you regulate your emotional state:
Clarity is maintained.
You standards stay in tact.
Alignment is preserved.
Your response becomes intentional instead of automatic. The same mastery Marcus Aurelius practiced, the refusal to let emotion take the seat of command.
Stepping Into the Seat of Awareness
Michael Singer writes: “You are not the voice in your head. You are the one who hears it.” When you can hear your thoughts rather than be carried by them, you move from the seat of reaction to the seat of awareness. From this place: clarity grows, emotional steadiness grows, self-trust grows. You begin to know yourself intimately.
The Physiology of Noticing
Most of our day is lived in fast, active mental states, thinking, solving, reacting, planning. In this state, the mind is loud. Mindful presence can be difficult, however, when you enter quieter states - reflection, journaling, stillness, walking, prayer, deep focus, or early morning awareness - the mental noise softens. You are no longer inside the storm. You are watching it.
Obseration and the study on oneself is one of the most life-changing decisions you can make. When triggers are discovered - the reason for the reaction, what is being protected and the repeated behaviors, life on autopilot stops. Self-awareness is freedom.
The Power of Now
Noticing anchors you in the present moment. The present moment is the only place choice exists. Not yesterday. Not tomorrow. Now. A quiet and clarifying question begins to surface: What am I doing right now that aligns with who I am here to be? Every meaningful life is built in these moments. Alignment is not a grand declaration. It is a series of small, conscious decisions made in ordinary time. Over time, those choices compound, shaping your behavior and your identity. Awareness is the path back to your source and your power.
As you begin paying attention to yourself, you will notice habits and reactions you do not love.
Remember: we all carry pure-hearted energy. Beneath the patterns, beneath the loops, beneath the learned behaviors, there is a part of you that is steady, sincere, and well-intentioned. Awareness is about uncovering who you have always been underneath the noise. The more you notice without judgment, the more you reconnect with that part of yourself. From there, change feels natural.
An Invitation
Today, begin the practice. At the end of your day, take five quiet minutes and become the witness of your own life. Notice:
Where your energy went
What strengthened you
What drained you
Where you acted in alignment
Where you reacted on autopilot
Where your time and attention were invested wisely
Where they were quietly squandered
Once you can see clearly, regulating your emotions becomes natural, choosing differently becomes natural, and alignment becomes your way of being.
Begin noticing.
At CG Excellence, we believe true transformation begins with self-awareness. If you’re ready to practice observation and step into a more intentional way of being, you’re in the right place. Connect with our community for support on your journey.
Explore the CG Excellence Training Library; Weekly Blogs, Training Reflection Videos and Podcasts that spotlight servant leaders, like you. My resources are available 24/7, CG Excellence Training.
Let CG Excellence support your next evolution, set up a discovery call to explore the portal of all possibilities.
Thank you for your kind attention, today!
It is my hope that this message added value to your life.
This is your invitation to subscribe for weekly inspiration.
Yours in service,
Christine
