The Value Of Self-Reflection
“Discovering the truth about ourselves is a lifetime’s work, but it’s worth the effort.”
—Fred Rogers
The reality is that most of us are not making our highest contribution to the things that matter most to us. Without taking time for intentional thought and course-correction, we drift - sometimes rather significantly - from the kind of life we’d like to live. And then, after months, years, and even decades pass by, we’re left wondering…what happened?
I consider self-reflection - the intentional process of engaging in serious thought about who we are and how we impact our world - to be an extremely helpful way of building an intentional, meaningful life. If we’re not taking regular inventory of our strengths and weaknesses, of our thoughts and feelings, of our hopes and goals, of our challenges and fears, then we’re prone to drift and change in ways we never intended.
There are a number of ways, both formal and informal, to engage in the process of self-reflection (writing in a journal, talking to a friend, taking a personality test, seeing a counselor, reading a book, etc.). Here are a few self-reflection questions I’ve used with clients to help them begin to think through the kinds of changes they’d like to make.
Helpful Self-Reflection Questions
On a scale of 1-10, how satisfied am I with my life in its current form?
If I could change one thing about my life, what would I change?
Have I been allocating my time and energy toward things that matter to me?
Which areas of my life have been causing me stress and anxiety?
Which ares of my life have been bringing me joy and satisfaction?
How would I rate the quality of my different areas of health (physical, spiritual, emotional, social, intellectual, etc.)?
Is there a new habit or routine I’d like to start?
The idea, of course, is that self-reflection would lead to self-awareness, which would lead to an appreciable change in the way we live our lives. If you’re able, I encourage you right here in this moment to his pause on your day and take a few minutes to reflect on your life - who you are, where you’re going, what’s important to you, etc. I think you’ll find that establishing regular moments of self-reflection like this will help you live a life that’s aligned with your values and beliefs, and will help you avoid living a life that lacks purpose and intention.