Why Self Reflecting is Important While Heading Into 2022

Self-reflection is described as the process of reflecting or thinking about habits, behaviors, thoughts, values, motivations, and desires.

Observing from a macro or larger perspective can be looked at as the overall direction of your life and where you came from and are heading. While a micro perspective can be looked at in detail, evaluating certain responses you may have to situations.

Self-reflection can take time, practice, and patience as well as honesty with yourself. Placing a pause on the everyday thoughts, feelings, and chaos to take a moment to think about the self.

The Importance of Self-Reflecting

Without self-reflection, we may not notice our patterns or acknowledge what is holding us in a particular spot. Taking this time to pause can allow us to evaluate what is working and what is not working in our favor.

Self-reflection can benefit our responses to emotions, situations, and challenges in a more centered frame of mind. This can also be beneficial for learning and understanding of yourself as well as others and non-relationship concepts.

Evaluate and Process What Has Been Learned From the Past

During the initial cognitive process, self-reflection can occur or not, from there the effect on the self can vary in the outcome. Was the initial behavior meaningful to the person and did they reflect on this moment, will they choose to once again engage in the behavior or change this due to the mental processing the engaged in during reflection?

Tips and Questions for Yourself

Choose a time and a place to dedicate to self-reflection. Clear your mind of distractions as best you can and decide on a specific amount of time you would like to reflect on. For example, the past month or past year.

Choosing to start small with just a few minutes a day or week can help ease into this practice.

Take stock of what has happened during this time frame. Looking through pictures, journals, or anything else you use to document your life can help to jog a memory of the events that have taken place.

Were there any patterns, people, places, or feelings that come up?

Were there changes in certain relationships that may have taken place?

Do any of these memories hold an intense emotional response, either pleasant or unpleasant?

It can be difficult to reflect on the painful memories, however, processing these can bring a sense of peace and growth. Asking yourself were these events within your control can help give guidance for future choices, could you make a different choice that would result in a different outcome? If yes what would that look like? If not, is there a way you could find peace with what has happened?

Take time to now look at your future goals and think about what you would like to focus on, feel and work towards in the new year. This can be a very small change or a continuation of something that brings you good feelings.

Example of an Assessment

• Mind — Do you feel clear-headed, engaged, and intellectually challenged?
• Body — Does your body feel healthy, nourished, and strong?
• Soul — Do you feel at peace and connected to the world around you?
• Work — Do you feel interested in and fulfilled by your work?
• Play — Do you feel joyful? Are you engaging in activities that bring you joy?
• Love — Do you feel positive about the relationships in your life?