Monday, September 13, 2021

Art of Self-Reflection - Dr Sangeetha Madhu and Sanjhna Shetty

 

Self-reflection is a process of revisiting and analyzing our past behavior. It involves diving deeper into our minds, to recognize our feelings, emotions, motivations and desires with an attempt to find the 'why' behind them.

At the micro level, we can evaluate our behavior, our responses to particular situations or circumstances and analyze them and on a macro level, we can study the trajectory of our life. This gives us a clear picture of where we are headed, and whether we are going in the right direction.

Importance of Self-Reflection

In today's time with our fast-paced lives, trying to keep up with the speed of the world around us we keep pushing through life without having a conscious thought . This often gets us in situations where we feel stuck.

·         Gaining Perspective: Hitting the pause button on life for a few minutes regularly helps us in identifying what matters and what doesn't.

·         Responding more effectively: Self-reflection helps in identifying tasks and priorities that are important to us. Which helps in allotting more time and attention to them. On the other hand tasks that are lower in importance require less mental effort.

·         Facilitates Learning and Understanding: Self-reflection enables us to decode our past experiences. By taking some time to think deeply and ponder the meaning of certain experiences and emotions, we start developing a holistic attitude towards life.

 

Practicing Self-Reflection

Micro level-

·         A few minutes of self-reflection practiced daily or weekly, helps us recap our recent past and review our actions in a very detailed manner. This helps in identifying several minute details of our behavior that resulted from the events that were happening around us.

 

Macro level-

·         Self-reflection can also be practiced at the end of every month and every year as a personal review. This helps us see the bigger picture and gain perspective towards life, ensuring that we're making the most out of our lives. Journal writing, taking a walk, listening to music, exercising, meditation, healthy self-talk. Identifying the important questions, and attempting to find answers to them is the goal. Effective and honest communication with oneself is the most important aspect of self-reflection.

 

Self-reflection practiced regularly, or after every new experience helps us enrich our lives in a very interesting way. Being detached from oneself, looking at the situations as a third person, or a silent observer helps us in being open to unbiased and honest insights about our behaviors in the past.

References

 

Self-Reflection 101: What is self-reflection? Why is reflection important? And how to reflect. Holstee. Retrieved 14 May 2021, from https://www.holstee.com/blogs/mindful-matter/self-reflection-101-what-is-self-reflection-why-is-reflection-important-and-how-to-reflect.

Self-Reflection, 1. 15 Essential Ways to Practice Self-Reflection. Minimalism Made Simple. Retrieved 14 May 2021, from https://www.minimalismmadesimple.com/home/self-reflection/.

The Art of Self-Reflection. Thriveglobal.com. Retrieved 14 May 2021, from https://thriveglobal.com/stories/the-art-of-self-reflection/.