The Perks Of Self-Reflection
“Self-reflection” I mean it’s not as if we don’t have the time to focus on it now do we?
This month I’m focusing a lot of my content on mindfulness; mainly because its something I’m putting a lot of my personal time into.
So many people thought this lockdown would be little more than a few weeks, but as we step into our fourth month in lockdown the gravity of the situation has really started to sink in.
Personally, I’m very concerned about my families return to normality, everyone in the household has been furloughed and theres no end in sight really. Every news article about the furlough scheme fills me with anxiety and the need to plan for the future.
I’ve been trawling through countless online courses and looking for ways to beef up my CV. But I’ve also been working on myself a bit more, looking for ways to become healthier and maintain a positive state of mental wellbeing. So far I’ve worked through various methods and a lot of them have been quite successful.
I began by setting out a list of Quarantine Resolutions; a series of low-pressure tasks which I’d like to do but shouldn’t feel horrifically bad about it if I don’t achieve them. It involved loads of random things from losing weight to finishing my Google ads certifications.
As I slowly ticked the resolutions off I started Journaling. Twice a day, everyday I would sit and write about everything I wanted to do and everything I had accomplished in that day. Looking back it was like I was micro-managing myself into a state of mindfulness and productivity. By journaling I was making the most of my time in lockdown, ensuring I didn’t sit on my ass all day playing Sims or scrolling through social media. Then, when this horrible time in our lives is over, I can look back and be proud of how I handled it and continued to look on the brighter side.
No matter the context, self-reflection is an incredibly useful tool for people looking to excel and succeed. It’s something we’re taught to do (to an extent) at a young age but we rarely adopt it in every aspect of our lives.
So let me steal a few minutes of your time to tell you why you should self-reflect more.
PR study: https://instituteforpr.org/know-thyself-examining-the-benefits-of-self-reflection/
Helps Strategise
Self-reflection is a key component in self-assessment. It’s the first step in creating the perfect action plan for achieving your goals. Your mind needs to focus on how exactly you’re going to achieve your goals rather than letting it wonder aimlessly. By sitting and asking yourself a few questions/home truths about how realistic your goals are helps you think about it systematically.
Allows You To Spot Opportunities and Threats
Remember learning SWOT in high school? A SWOT analysis helps you grow in your professional and personal life. While making the most of your opportunities, knowing the threats helps you navigate pitfalls. It is imperative to understand your skillset, behaviour, belied and assumptions if you wish to achieve a better outcome.
Emotional Intelligence
When you’re taking the time to self-reflect, you’re looking at yourself through a variety of lenses. These difference perspectives help you tap into your emotions and understand them from various angles. Paying attention to your subconscious is key to interpreting your emotions. Self reflection gives you a better understanding of the appropriate responses in any situation.
Confidence and Understanding
Self-reflection helps you understand yourself, giving you the confidence to tackle matters with a level-headed approach. Understanding the perspective of others is an important part of self-reflection. Considering different options, helps you discover new solutions.
Be More Productive
After taking the time to sit and reflect on yourself, the likelihood is that you’ll understand how you work and what motivates you a little more. When I worked as a PR manager, my charity were really keen on the idea of staff taking time to work on self reflection. They were assigned life coaches who would chat through your work load and encourage you to develop new ways to think critically and increase productivity. I even went as far as assessing my working patterns. I discovered I’m really editorial in the morning and can write like crazy in the afternoons. Weird eh?
How Can You Self-Reflect
Maintain A Journal
If writing gives you comfort, self-reflect using this practice. It will help direct your thoughts and get to the root of the matter.
Ask Questions
Asking questions is crucial for self-reflection. Without questions, there are no answers. Some examples of good self-reflective questions include: Am I good enough for the position of the manager? Are my co-workers happy with me? Do I have to work on my communication skills?
Bridge The Gap
There is a difference between what you say, what you do, what you think and what you feel. It is crucial to reflect on each of these segments, to understand where the discrepancy lies.
The Big Why?
You cannot afford to work on this process without “Why?” The idea of self-reflection is to direct you and this direction is of no use unless there is an end goal. The ‘why’ helps you formulate the end goal. While one mostly tends to look at a ‘why’ from an external perspective, eg: Why is the boss so angry always? Effort must be made to have ‘why’s’ addressed internally too, eg: Why is my work not up to the mark and why am I disappointing my boss?
Focus
Self-reflection is impossible if you are distracted. Whether for ten minutes or an hour, it requires your full concentration. Set aside a specific time and if the concentration is difficult, try to meditate and focus your wavering mind, before continuing your self-reflection.
Ultimately self-reflection is about your relationship with yourself. An inability to self-reflect obstructs your progress. You can always do it in small doses and find the best path for you, but shirking this process prevents you from personal growth.