The importance of self-reflection

When was the last time you reflected about your life?

It is easy to go through life and never take time to evaluate ourselves. 

We can get so busy and caught up in the noise and distraction that we forget to check how we are doing and that we haven’t drifted off course. 

Evaluating ourselves allows us to check our strengths, weaknesses, emotional state and helps increase self-awareness.

Here are some questions that will help you with your self-reflection:

What are you good at?

It’s important to evaluate what you are good at. This could be your talents or just something you enjoy doing.

Doing things that we are good at helps build our confidence. 

When was the last time you did something that makes you feel happy and excited? 

We can go through life doing a lot of things, and never really give time to doing things that are pleasurable. It’s important to check what gives you pleasure and to make time to do it. 

What gives you satisfaction in life? 

Our purpose is often found in things that give us satisfaction. 

“Personal satisfaction is the most important ingredient of success” - Denis Waitley.

What is stealing your joy and what are you doing to change it?

Steve Maraboli once said: “The reason many people in our society are miserable, sick, and highly stressed is because of an unhealthy attachment to things they have no control over.”

Check that you are not allowing things you can’t change to steal your happiness.  If it’s things you have control over and can change, do so before they continue to steal your joy. 

What is your biggest challenge? 

“The greater the obstacle, the more glory in overcoming it” – Molière.

Create a plan to overcome your challenges and let go of the excuses. 

What are your weaknesses, and how are you planning to improve?

Knowing one’s weaknesses offers them an opportunity to grow and work on improving themselves. As Shusaku Endo once said “every weakness contains within itself a strength". 

Working on improving your weaknesses will help you develop new strengths. 

What are you doing to help improve your mental state?

Our thoughts are what make us. The state of our mind affects how we think, feel, and act.

So, it’s important to be aware of what you constantly meditate about and choose to feed your mind with positive things. 

Do you have unresolved issues that you need to fix? 

Having unresolved issues can harm our lives. They can affect our work, health and even relationships. It is important to deal with past hurts that are holding you back, in order to enjoy peace and happiness.  

Are you true to yourself?

It’s easy to go through life pleasing others and never really reflecting on what you really want. Being true to yourself means doing a sincere introspection of your core values and taking off the mask. 

Although being true to oneself is not always easy, it is rewarding and fulfilling. 

“Your only obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself,” Richard Bach.

Below are more questions from vloggers, tea and twigs, and James Schmidt to help you when you do self-reflection. 

Image courtesy of iStock/ splendens

READ: Four ways to overcome low self-confidence in the workplace