Having studied many personal growth and leadership materials, I believe the most important work we need to do for ourselves is to focus on the inner work by improving our self-awareness and self-acceptance.

We can't be a good leader of ourselves nor the others when we don't have enough self-awareness.
We can't change ourselves for the better when we don't accept our current selves.
Happiness and fulfillment naturally come when we are more self-aware and accept who we are.

We can trace many of our negative thoughts and unhappiness back to our inner selves, e.g.
- imposter syndrome
- comparison with others
- lack of confidence & insecurity
- toxic behaviors
- scarcity mindset

Being more self-aware means that we understand our inner selves better:
- Our strengths & weaknesses
- Our habits & unconscious behaviours
- Our past stories & trauma that influence our behaviours
- Our triggers for positive & negative emotions
- Our values, goals, needs, and wants

A few things we can do to improve our self-awareness:
- Doing personality assessment, e.g. CliftonStrengths, MBTI
- Getting constructive feedback from others
- Doing personal reflection & introspection
- Self-educating by studying personal growth and self-help materials
- Doing mindfulness activities, e.g. journaling, walking in nature

Once we become more self-aware, accepting ourselves is equally important.
It acknowledges we are who we are and offers a peace of mind amid external factors that are highly distracting.
It drives us to be kind to ourselves and know we are good enough with all our unique attributes.

In summary, prioritize your inner work over the external work.

I strongly believe self-awareness and self-acceptance serve as our great internal compass to drive the impactful changes we want in our lives.
They serve as a solid baseline and foundation we can build on top of, leading us to a happier and much more fulfilling lives.

Note: Such is the importance of this inner work, I have it as one of my tech leadership wisdom.
Hear more in the Tech Lead Journal episode 101.
https://techleadjournal.dev/episodes/101/