Self-reflection is the art of looking at yourself and pondering your actions as of late. You don’t necessarily need to sit down and quietly think about everything questionable you have done in your life because reflection can come in many forms. For example, you could reflect upon yourself in a journal, while talking to someone, or even while walking. Regardless of which method you choose, the main goal is the same: come out with a better understanding of yourself and your actions.
What are the benefits of a better understanding of yourself? Well, one of the biggest ones is that you can reflect on bad habits you have. Since introspection offers you the time to think about your actions, you might be able to notice some of the habits or mistakes you often make. Oftentimes, I think about how much I procrastinate my work and how it has negatively affected me at the moment. Especially when assignments begin to pile up, I foolishly let them snowball until the deadline starts to come closer and closer. Reflecting on this aspect of my life helps me to try to become more self-aware of my procrastination and will help me to try and mitigate it.
However, reflection doesn’t have to take the form of just looking at the bad parts of your life. It can also be a celebration of the things you’re proud of. You could just as easily journal about how you’re proud of the fact that you’ve been able to keep up with a hobby. Personally, I have a goal of memorizing a certain number of flashcards per day, and it is difficult to keep up with this alongside school work. Yet, when I am able to keep a streak of keeping with these flashcards, I feel proud enough to celebrate my accomplishment while reflecting upon myself.
With this in mind, I like to think of introspection as personal time to try and focus on improving myself. It may seem hard to take time out of your day to do a seemingly mundane task like reflection, but I promise that the benefits are worth it. Life isn’t an easy thing to stay on top of, but reflection can give you that edge that helps you improve yourself as a person. Any positive improvements you make to yourself can only help you, so consider reflecting every once in a while.
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