It’s interesting to me how many people I speak with take so little time, if any, for reflection.
I don’t say this to judge, as I know it can be difficult. It’s not a practice that intuitively seems immediately important when we consider all the tasks and responsibilities we’re faced with on any given day.
It can feel like a strange activity that leads us feeling confused about what category to put it in. For some, it’s too passive of an activity to feel useful. There are other things I could actually be doing–measurable things that move me close to a couple daily goals that I’m trying to accomplish before I go to bed. Hey, I have a long list of things I’m trying to get done today!
For others, reflection might oddly feel like too much work.
Or, maybe we’re not used to going inward and pondering.
Maybe we’re tired and don’t have the bandwidth to reflect.
Maybe we try to avoid our inner world, for various reasons, eg, we’re struggling with something like guilt, and slowing down enough to do some reflection provides an opportunity for difficult material to emerge in our heads and hearts, causing us psychic pain.
Despite all these reasons, the fact of the matter is that reflection–regular reflection–has many potential benefits.
Here’s one: we clarify where we are on “the map”. Are we heading in the right direction–the direction we’ve charted for ourselves?
Any road-tripper, or any sailor, knows the importance of checking where they are on the map, in correspondence with their destination, so that they can either steady-on and maintain their present course, OR realize they’ve drifted off course, and then make the necessary adjustments to get back on course.
Are we moving towards our important goals?
This requires some “zooming out” as it were, and engaging in some reflection.
Here’s another possible benefit of reflection: we sort through and process all the material that’s accumulated in our heads since our last time of reflection.
This “emptying the cup” experience allows us to be released from a lot of mental stress, as carrying “all that” around in our heads for too long drains our inner strength to one degree or another.
Of course, as we take some time to wade through all the accumulated debris in our heads, we very well might come upon some content that is actually useful–perhaps an idea or two that we can develop and turn into something valuable.
Here’s another idea: regular reflection is a good way to do some tracking.
For example, tracking your stress. I often suggest to clients that they have a mid-day check-in with themselves, where they do a few things, one of which is to identify their level of stress on a scale of 1-10.
Why mid-day? Because, just like the sailor checking his coordinates: if you catch problems early-ish, like mid-day, then you can make useful adjustments for the remainder of the day, rather than continuing for the remainder of the day without the corrections, and going home completely stressed out.
And there are other things you can track, eg, your energy level; your connection level to your spouse or partner, or kids; your wellness practices–how well have you been eating and moving your body around?
Application: the sky’s the limit based on your own creativity, but I’d recommend an end-of-day check-in with yourself, where you allow yourself to do some reflection about your day, as well as your upcoming day. Or in a more global sense, reflection about your LIFE. Try different formats. Buy a journal and develop a routine of writing things down. You’ll figure out your “way”.
And if you can’t quite connect with this daily routine suggestion, then try something like this at the end of the week, and before the upcoming week–that little crease of time where you can consider where you’ve been and where you’re going.
What about you? Have you found value in setting aside time for regular reflection?
That’s all for now!
Have a great week, stay positive, and keep reflecting. |