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Quote of the day:

“When you see a good person, think of becoming like her/him. When you see someone not so good, reflect on your own weak points.”

– Confucius

Reflection

What is it?

To Reflect: (/rəˈflekSH(ə)n/) serious thought or consideration.

Reflection is the process of taking a step back to review your experiences, actions, and thoughts. It involves taking the time to consider the tiny details of what happened, what was done, and what could have been done differently. It's an important tool for self-improvement because it allows you to learn from your experiences and make better choices in the future.

Reflection can help you identify patterns in your behavior or thinking that may be holding you back. For example, if you notice that you tend to procrastinate, you can reflect on why this might be happening and develop strategies to overcome these tendencies.

Without reflection, and taking the time to stop and ask ourselves how we are feeling and to understand what is going well right now and what isn't, may result in being stuck in situations, jobs/relationships you hate, or lack mindsets longer than necessary.

By regularly taking the time to reflect on your experiences and actions, you can continue to grow and improve as a person.

Why does it matter?

Reflecting matters for several reasons. Here are a few:

• Learning: Reflection allows you to learn from your past experiences, both positive and negative so next time you can have a different outcome. Many studies show that self-reflection provides a deeper level of learning and understanding.

• Self-awareness: It’s so important to truly know yourself on a deep level. Reflecting on interactions with others, analyzing your emotions, and evaluating personal values can help you become more self-aware. This will help you recognize patterns of behavior, understand emotional triggers, and allow you to make decisions that align with you. A strong sense of self, leads to more self confidence.

• Personal growth: Reflection is crucial for personal growth as it can help identify areas for improvement, appreciate your strengths, and boost self-esteem. By objectively assessing ourselves, identifying our strengths, and acknowledging weaknesses, we can develop strategies to use our strengths more often and improve our lives.

• Problem-solving: Reflection can be a powerful tool for problem-solving. By reflecting on a problem, you can gain a better understanding of the underlying causes and potential solutions.

• Relationships: Reflection can enhance relationships by providing a better understanding of others perspectives and needs, enabling effective communication and building stronger connections. Taking a moment to reflect can help provide thoughtful responses by assessing all perspectives before reacting.

• Setting Goals: Use reflection to take some time to think about what you want out of life. Setting goals is an important step in achieving what you want. This can include short-term, intermediate-term, and long-term goals. Your goals don't need to be huge, but they should be meaningful to you and inspire you to take action. You can always start small.

Your thoughts even if you believe them to be true, are not always the truth. One of the best ways to understand and overcome any limiting beliefs you have is to step back, reflect, and validate that thought.

Reflections are extremely critical to self development and an important habit to create that will give you perspective, spark joy, and teach you lessons from everyday occurrences.

How to connect inwards?

Reflection can be used both personally and professionally. A frequent way people reflect is by looking back over a period of time (e.g Jan-Dec), major life events, or the completion of a project ― but we should be reflecting on a personal level on a more frequent basis, to promote constant change, healthy growth, and to check in with ourselves daily.

One of my favorite ways to reflect is listing your highs and lows at the end of each day (we have room in our planner for this). Your highs for the day is a great moment to celebrate the good of what is, and to ultimately create more happiness. The lows are a way to uncover what went wrong, so that next time you can do it differently. We all make mistakes and have our own challenges, and I believe they are our greatest gifts to learn and grow.

Another option is keeping a reflective journal, this allows you to go a bit deeper. Self-reflection questions such as what do I want, what are my goals, what am I afraid of, what do I want to achieve, what am I grateful for, and what are my strengths and weaknesses can help you get started on the path of self-reflection.

Being honest with yourself, taking time to look inward, writing down your thoughts, and paying attention to recurring patterns in your life are some tips. Making self-reflection a daily habit is so important.

This is great Blog Post and more in-depth guide to give you ideas on how you can start reflecting.

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