Perhaps our most important task in life is to discover who we inherently are. This includes information about our inherent personality traits, temperament and thinking habits. Self – reflection and self – measurement are key components of this journey although most of us are inclined to shy away from this.
The primary reasons for this are that we have either not discovered the value thereof or that this process does not necessarily provide instant gratification. The truth is however that every minute spent on self – a reflection is a vital tool towards attaining success in every job we do, a relationship we conduct and refining ourselves.
Self – reflection renders the opportunity to weed out negative ideas we might hold about ourselves and cultivating characteristics that serve us in good stead. In my personal life, I have discovered a few specific tools that have been non – negotiable on this journey. These tools are:
- Always have a small notebook or journal at hand. Make random notes about significant thoughts, ideas or actions, and feelings you might have during the day. This is a way to become more aware of the quality of your inner dialogue. Does it build or break?
- Allocate a short period of 10 or 15 minutes specifically for reflection as part of your daily routine. Early in the morning or just before you go to bed are possibilities.
- Pick a few core characteristics you would like to cultivate and measure your behavior against these. My personal ones are maturity, wisdom, integrity, and love. I ask myself whether I have practiced these in specific situations during a day or previous day.
- Write down clear goals for self – improvement. An example would be to write “I will practice being more patient with my children today” or “I will apologize to my employee for interrupting him when he was telling me about a specific problem yesterday.
