Let’s look at how taking five minutes a day to practice self-reflection can help us move forward rather than cling to the past.
FINDING THE TIME
Life can be incredibly busy with constant multi-tasking in order to stay on top of everything. Sometimes, finding the time to do anything but work, eat, and sleep can be a challenge. But how often in a day do we scroll through
Facebook or Instagram? How often do we find ourselves zoning out in front of the TV? (I’m as guilty as the next person.) These are the moments where, with enough motivation, we could choose to look back at our day and our reaction or response to the events that happened.
GOOD OR BAD, IT DOESN’T MATTER
Whether you’ve had the best or the worst day, it really doesn’t matter. In fact, self-reflection can be easier when we’ve had a rough time. If you’ve lost your temper in a confrontation or felt constantly low, self-reflection can
help us to learn what happened. It can help us figure out what made us react and teach us where to go from there.
THE PRACTICE OF SELF-REFLECTION
Self-reflection is supposed to be a short practice where we notice how we feel now and look back at what’s happened throughout the day that may have influenced this. It isn’t meant to be about over-thinking and judging
ourselves for not being “perfect” but rather about feeling compassion for ourselves and vow to do better next time. In this way, we can leave behind the negative and focus on the positive.
FINDING SELF-AWARENESS
Self-awareness is a great tool that helps us understand what makes us feel good and what leaves us feeling deflated. It can teach us what situations can be fixed and which we have to walk away from. If we went through life
without reflection, we would never blossom.
TAKING A STEP BACK
Giving ourselves five minutes a day can help us to re-evaluate where we are right now. For example, if we are in a job that doesn’t suit us and ultimately makes us feel unmotivated, we may react badly towards our
colleagues or bring that low mood home, interrupting precious family time. We can all aspire to be calm and collected through whatever life throws at us, but that’s not always possible. In the moment, we get caught up in our emotions and can turn into someone we don’t like. This is okay. This is life. But there is absolutely no harm in addressing your reactions later in the day, without being hard on yourself, and making a mental note to catch yourself next time.
credit: http://www.ekhartyoga.com
By Kat Bayly
