A Closer Look in the Mirror

Self-reflection is one of the most important routines that I follow on regular basis because it helps invigorate my spirit for life and helps me focus on the things that matter the most. We live in a upside down world. Let’s face it, our lives are extremely busy, everyone is moving so fast and we barely have enough time for what we have going on already! Right? Well, if you can cut something out of your daily routine and squeeze in a little 10 minutes of self-reflection, you’ll be glad you did.

It seems like people have no patience and lack kindness in our world today. It is natural or normal to people to have experienced some sort of undue stress in their lives due to other people who only care about themselves and what they can take from you. In my experience, people have become self-serving and lack care or consideration of others, which is very disappointing and frustrating especially when you are trying to improve your life and always give a helping hand, or a buck, to those in need. It is disheartening and painful, but we must move forward the best that we can even when others try to get the upper hand or take our happiness and spirit of life into their own hands.

See, I’ve painted a pretty bad picture of today in the modern world; however, there is a point to be made. In a sense, we do the exact same thing to ourselves. We criticize ourselves because we lack confidence and esteem and we lash out because in our society, people judge us for some many different things. You’re overweight or you are too skinny; your nose or ears are too big. Your clothes are not what’s cool or hip. It hurts our feelings and our pride and self-worth are often compromised because that’s all we truly want is to be happy, right?

Life includes many different wonderful elements. Utilize these to send out positive vibrations out to the Universe. Try this out: instead of worrying about what others think about you, ask yourself about you and what you need to improve in your life that will be ignite a spark within you so that you can carry your spirit. Only participate in positive activities and always self-reflect. however, they seem few and far between. How was your day and what have you learned about yourself? What things do you feel you need to improve and what victories did you have? How can you do better next time? Are there people in your life that are toxic? What can you do better and how can you encourage yourself and others to send out positive vibrations through contribution, showing kindness and building on or starting positive relationships that help you elevate? Keep those great things you’ve learned about yourself through self-reflection and put all of your successes inside of your “pocket” throughout your life. You’ll need to reference these in your future when mistakes happen or bad choices are made so that you can learn and grow from them.

Daily self-reflection is vital for personal and professional growth. Allowing yourself some time to collect your thoughts and sort of “disconnect” from the world, in an effort to focus on you, is an absolute imperative. Now I know that most of you are thinking to yourself when will I ever have enough time and how can I integrate this into my already full schedule that includes so many different things such as kids soccer games or piano lessons for your 14-year-old, or date night for you and your husband, or keeping yourself on a sleep schedule that has helped you immensely and you fear that it will be hot your progress. When you understand that self reflection is as important as any other box on your agenda, you will start to prioritize it because it’ll become a part of who you are. Self-reflection is a huge component in nurturing you as a human being. It is the very essence of who we are and helps us find ourselves in a way and can bring you great joy and alleviate stress if it is on a consistent basis. Now, you may not be able to incorporate 10 minutes out of your schedule during your first week or two, but you should make time to accommodate this time as it is important for your growth as a human being. So, make some adjustments and revise this or edit this or not do this or not do that, but it will be worth it. The rewards for implementing this into your routine and into your daily life are just fantastic. Who wouldn’t want to go to bed with a clear head and have the ability to sleep that rugged deep REM sleep where you feel rested and motivated when you wake up and you have some energy like you were in high school down and determined to get on with your day. Self-reflection can and will do that for you if you or forth the effort to focus on you. Make this YOUR time; tell everyone to give you this break for you. Find a place that is cozy and comfortable and give yourself a little bit of time to do it every single day until it becomes apart of your daily schedule. Once you start getting a feel for the rewards of self-reflection, you will have the opportunity to live a better, more fulfilled life and you will discover how to live your very best life. You deserve to be happy.