It is time to reflect

From the game Quip Qubes

My last two posts have been on laughing at your failures, learning from your failures and basically taking time to reflect. Why is self-reflection so important?

“At its simplest, reflection is about careful thought. But the kind of reflection that is really valuable to leaders is more nuanced than that. The most useful reflection involves the conscious consideration and analysis of beliefs and actions for the purpose of learning. Reflection gives the brain an opportunity to pause amidst the chaos, untangle and sort through observations and experiences, consider multiple possible interpretations, and create meaning.” —Jennifer Porter, HBR.org

Self-refection is about more than learning from failures. It is about learning about yourself. Tracey Kennedy writing for LifeHack says that self-reflection is necessary for being a happy and successful person. In fact, if we just keep moving and never slow down to reflect, we make the same mistakes and/or have the same issues again and again. Who wants that?! I don’t.

Personally, I believe in self-reflection. It helps me to understand what is and isn’t working in my business, times when my parenting was lousy and I need to apologize to my daughter and how to help myself improve my mood. I spent a day of my vacation doing a self-guided walking tour of a nearby town. I wondered about the streets and amongst the old buildings (talking 1800s) and shops. This gave me time to reflect on myself and what I wanted for my business and myself coming into the fall. It also allowed me to get real about where my business and I are at and things I can do to improve both.

After a recent Reiki session with my friend and practitioner, Cindy, she gave me a breathing routine of 5-5-5.—inhale for a count of 5, hold for 5 and exhale for 5. Using this breath at quiet times to aid my reflection has helped me to diver deeper. Maybe at some point, I will start a meditation practice, but for now, I’ll stick to what is working.