How regular reflection can improve the quality of your life
Weekly Wisdom — 01
We all have good and bad weeks. Sometimes everything seems to go exactly as planned and it feels as if the universe is working with us. Other weeks can feel exactly the opposite. I have been fascinated with psychology and the power we have over our own thoughts and perceptions for a long time, but even the mindful among us often struggle to keep a positive outlook on life when it feels as though nothing is going our way.
I recently downloaded the Best self journal on a recommendation from a friend. As well as some great planning tools, it also has a daily and weekly reflection exercise in it. Although I have previously seen the benefits of journaling to clarify my thoughts, I have never really used it to analyse my week or month. Once I really started to reflect on my days and weeks, it was much easier to identify the 20% of things that were causing 80% of my stress. When were the times I struggled to stay in the flow and when were the times I was on top of the world? Ups and downs can often feel random, but they are really just a result of our perception and the meaning we give to events in our life. When you allow yourself to take a step back and gain perspective on your weekly or daily activity, it allows you to see common patterns and threads that you can consciously make an effort to avoid in the future.
For the next two weeks, make it a habit to spend five minutes reflecting on your day and week. The best self journal has some great exercises to help and they can be downloaded for free here.
