Welcome to our new LW4K Video Series where we take an executive function skill and break it down into easy-to-understand examples. This series also provides examples of video games that can help your child enhance their executive functioning skills, as well as examples of when this skill can be utilized in real life. Click here to watch the second installment of the series: What is Self-Awareness? The transcript of the video is also provided below for your convenience. 

What is Self-Awareness? Self-Awareness is the thinking skills that helps us to:

1. Think about our own thinking
2. Care about the thoughts and feelings of others
3. Know why you choose to do things 

Self-Awareness can help you to: 

1. Step back and see if you’ve made a good decision
2. Check in with yourself to see how you are feeling about a situation and…
3. Be kind and understanding with your friends and family 

Here are some examples of how you can use self-awareness in everyday life: 

1. When you collaborate with another student on a project for school 
2. When you listen to your teacher during class
3. When you talk about your feelings 
4. When you are able to identify situations that make you upset or uncomfortable
5. When you are able to identify unhelpful negative thoughts
6. When someone else expresses an opinion different from your own 
7. When you journal about how your day went 
8. When you are able to explain to another person why you made a particular decision 

Self-Awareness is also an important skill when playing video games:

Self Awareness can help you when playing a game where moral choices need to be made. In the game Undertale, the player encounters various monsters and has the option to fight them, run away, or befriend them. The player needs to think about the decisions they are making in the game and why they are choosing one over another. It is possible to complete the entire game without killing any monsters so the game allows for the player to think about the consequences of their actions. Upon replaying the game, the monsters remember what you did the first time you played, which re-reminds the player of their previous actions. 

Online multiplayer games are a great way for players to practice their self-awareness skills. Because these games typically have a vocal or chat component, the player needs to interact with people who may have different opinions and ideas about how to proceed in the game. The player must use their self-awareness skills to make sure they are communicating with the other players without being too stubborn or negative. Self-Awareness can also help the player to recognize when a situation is negatively affecting their wellbeing and that they need to leave the game or report a player to the game’s moderator. 

Self-Awareness can also help us in games where competitors have different agendas. In the game Among Us, players work together as crewmembers on a spaceship. But one member is actually an imposter who needs to sabotage the mission and eliminate the other players. If a player believes something is suspicious, they can call a meeting and eject someone from the ship. Because this game might require some bluffing, it can be easy to get upset if you were wrongly accused or being discovered as being the imposter. The player needs to  use their self-awareness skills to be kind to the other players and understand that bluffing is part of the game. 

The next time you’re playing a video game, pay attention to when you are using your self-awareness skills the most. Then, think about how this skill is helping you get better at the game.Try the strategies you used in-game the next time you need to use your self-awareness in the real world. You just may find that by practicing this skill in the game, you are getting better at it in real life too!