

Then, begin by taking stock of what actually happened during this period. Do you want to look back on the last week? Last month? Last year? Last 5 years? Think deeply about what truly matters to you.įirst, determine the period of time you plan to look back on. Simply write out these questions and then take your time to thoughtfully answer them. One easy way to perform this self-reflection exercise is to use a journal (an online journal or print journal). So how exactly do you perform self-reflection? How do you appropriately and helpfully reflect on yourself and your life? It enables us to live holistic, integrated, and healthy lives. It allows us to think deeply and ponder the meaning of our circumstances, emotions, and motivations. Self-reflection, on the other hand, enables us to evaluate and process what we’ve experienced. We simply move from one thing to the next, never pausing to consider what valuable lessons we might learn. When we go through life without pausing to think and reflect, we don’t learn or gain a deeper understanding of life. It also enables you to consider the best, most effective, most helpful way to act in a given situation. Personal reflection allows you to consider the consequences of your words and actions. When we’re in a reactive mode, we don’t take the necessary time to consider our actions and words. This can lead to us saying and doing things we regret. Most of the time, we simply react to whatever circumstances come our way. It allows you to process events and achieve clarity on them. Self-reflection allows you to take a step back and gain perspective on what matters and what can be ignored. Some things seem bigger and worse than they truly are. It Allows You To Gain PerspectiveĮmotions can cloud your judgment and you can lose sight of what truly matters. Nevertheless, there are numerous wonderful benefits of self-reflection and we should all make time for it. It can be challenging to take the necessary time to step back and reflect on what truly matters. Yes, taking time for self-reflection can be difficult. We end up doing the same things over and over again, even if those things aren’t producing the results we had hoped for. We feel like we’re simply trying to keep our heads above water. The unfortunate result is that we often get stuck.įor example, a lack of personal reflection may lead us to stay in a job we don’t like or a relationship that isn’t going well.Ī lack of reflection causes us to simply keep running, trying to keep up with things even if things aren’t going well. To determine what is going well and what isn’t working. Without self-reflection, we simply go through life without thinking, moving from one thing to the next without making time to evaluate whether things are actually going well. This short video captures the importance of self-reflection and introspection beautifully: But it’s an incredibly valuable practice. It requires pressing pause on the chaos of life and simply taking the time to think and ponder about your life, which is not an easy thing for many people to do. Practicing self-reflection takes discipline and intentionality. It's about tapping into every aspect of the experience, clarifying our thinking, and honing in on what really matters to us."
#Self reflection control professional
"Reflection is a deeper form of learning that allows us to retain every aspect of any experience, be it personal or professional - why something took place, what the impact was, whether it should happen again - as opposed to just remembering that it happened.
