Have you ever found yourself making excuses for your behaviors? Maybe you didn’t find yourself, but you definitely made the excuses. Do you ever hear the same complaints from others that may have never met, yet have the same thing to say about you? Have you ever looked into that? Or are you perfect and nothing is wrong with you, but something is wrong with THEM? Diving deep into these situations help us figure out why self reflection is important.
Those moments should be your epiphany. We all have faults. We have our strengths and weaknesses, but are we aware of them? Self reflection allows you to analyze yourself from the outside looking in. It’s the building block of emotional awareness. When you self reflect, you actively notice what ticks you off, and what makes you calm. It teaches you how to harness your emotions so that you can control them, and they don’t control you.
Here’s an example:
An acquaintance is annoying to you for any particular reason. Nothing major, just the way they smile gets on your nerves. How they chew their food irks your soul, and their left ear is bigger than their right MY GOODNESS, SHAME! You want to know who’s problem that is? Yours. Because you’re mad, and they’re chilling…with their lopsided ears self. You’re over here getting gray hairs over this nonsense while they’re unbothered, living their best life and eating their favorite yogurt.
Why are you feeling this way? How do you not let the big or small things control your emotions? Those are some questions you should be asking yourself.
Self reflection is a simple process that I do in 4 simple steps:
- Find a quiet place
- Ask questions
- Discover & Learn
- Apply
When you find your quiet place, imagine a play or movie of your life in panoramic form, and analyze. You may ask broad questions like, “Am I true to myself?” or “Am I getting the most out of my life?”, “What makes me happy?”. Or you may ask more case specific questions like, “Am I easily stressed?”, “Do I let others get to me?”, “Why am I easily bothered?”.
Once you’ve uncovered and discovered yourself, you are now aware. This awareness calls for action. You’ve uncovered some things about yourself that you may love, or hate. Nothing happens overnight, but now you’re able to apply what you’ve learned about yourself to your life. It may take a few tries, you may have to catch yourself a few times, but eventually you’ll get the hang of it. Above all, the results of your actions will make you proud.
Give everyday the chance to become the most beautiful day of your life
-Mark Twain