In this episode we use our skills in self-awareness and self-management to explore self advocacy.

Self-advocacy is the ability to communicate your needs. People who self-advocate are more likely to thrive in school, work, and life. It creates independence and empowers people to find solutions rather than being stuffed in a closet, wallowing in the willows, or just plain existing. When we advocate for ourselves, we understand what our needs are; we have a good indication of possible support that is needed; we communicate effectively what our needs are to others.

Pulling it back to social and emotional learning, self-awareness and self-management are key facets to being able to communicate our needs effectively. When we think about our previous episodes these 2 areas spoke about understanding emotions, naming them, recognizing them, and managing those emotions in a positive manner. Self-advocacy now takes what we know about ourselves and our emotions to communicate that to others in an effective way. This is a skillset that can be learned. We definitely know there are numerous opportunities to practice and apply your knowledge.

I think of it as standing within your power. Not the kind that is I have power over others. But I have the choice to know how I am feeling, why I feel a certain way, and how I ask for what I need in order to live and work productively, efficiently, and in a place of wisdom where I can dig deeply into using that problem solving brain we spoke of 2 episodes ago.