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Why You Should Make Time for Self-Reflection (Even If You Hate Doing It)
The truth is that many people are so busy striving to move forward with their lives that they hardly take a moment to reflect on their lives. Additionally, we always forget to recognize the benefits of self-reflection and its impacts on our lives. In my opinion, self-reflection is among the best ways that an individual can shift their mindsets, discover a greater connection to oneself, and increase positivity in one’s life. Self-reflection focuses on bringing an individual’s attention to what is happening in their lives in a mindful and open-minded way. Self-reflection revolves around creating self-awareness. Many people always focus on getting ahead that they forget to take a moment to reflect on what is going on in their lives. There are numerous ways of practicing self-reflection. One of the best ways of practicing self-reflection is through journaling. Journaling enables people to learn more about themselves by recognizing patterns, habits, and consistent themes in an individual’s life. The article by Jennifer Porter plays an important role in enabling us to understand the current trends in executive development and the workplace. The article also enables us to understand the benefits of self-reflection. Here are some reasons we should make self-reflection a priority in our lives, even if we hate doing it.
Self-reflection enables us to make sense of things. Self-reflection can enable an individual to process his/her thoughts and feelings. Keeping our thoughts floating around in our head confuses or frustrates us. Putting our thoughts on paper can help us understand why we feel a certain way and help make those feelings easier to navigate. Self-reflection enables us to uncover breakthroughs (Porter, 40). When we journal, we may end up with solutions to the challenges we may be facing. When we keep thinking of the same challenge regularly without taking action, we may see the problem as bigger than they are. By taking a moment to pause, reflect, and look within, we may find that we have numerous answers to the challenges we are experiencing. However, many leaders fail to reflect on their lives because the process can make them develop feelings of discomfort, defensiveness, irritation, and vulnerability (Porter 39).
Self-reflection increases self-awareness. Individuals on their self-improvement journey need to understand where they are going and where they are currently. Without self-awareness, a person cannot fully understand their emotions, goals, values, or strengths. Self-reflection enables people to understand more about where they are right now and how their current situation may help them get where they want to be (TEDx Talks 1). Self-reflection enables an individual to live with more intention. Reflecting on what is going on in an individual’s life can remind what we do daily. Most of a person’s life always blend into one another. Therefore, frequent reflection can provide a chance to realize how the days are different. Besides, self-reflection can also enable individuals to understand how they can add more fun and joy into their daily lives. Self-reflection also inspires self-acceptance. For example, when some leaders reflect, they see all their achievements and failures (Porter 39). Some leaders may dismiss their strengths and dislike the noted weaknesses. Some become defensive. Hence, they fail to learn anything from the process. Self-reflection enables individuals to note the negative things in their lives and then strive to make them right.