When there’s no recollection of the past, there’s no guidance for the future since your future is build on yesterdays errors.”
The most important thing when it comes to creating yourself is being completely honest in your current situation. Many people don’t really focus on progressing in their life and just live it day by day. When you ask them;
“What’s up” they’ll always respond with;
“Not much”, “OK”, “Fine, you?” and so-forth. Not really thinking at all.
They usually just say this automatically and will respond vaguely just to avoid the question.
But are they really OK? Do they really like the situation they’re in? I believe it’s just a reflection of how apathetic they’ve become towards their circumstances. I like to call this “zombie-mode”
Something I try to stay away from at all costs.
They don’t really do a regular introspection by which they could gain more insight on how they are actually feeling/doing (and how they can actually make it better)
But at least you’re smarter than that, right?
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Self-Reflection
To do this I’ve designed for myself a daily & weekly reflection in which I ask myself some basic questions in order to clearly assess how I am doing and what areas I need to focus on more.
It allows me to see & fix recurring problems, record the progress I’ve been making and how I need to adjust my life for optimal results.
For the reflections I use the following questions;
Daily Reflection (Evening)
- What good did I do today?
- How did I feel today? (Energy, emotions, thoughts?)
- What did I learn today?
- What new decisions have I made and what do I expect to happen (feedback analysis)
- What were my character flaws? How did I treat others?
- Am I getting trapped in routine? AM I FULLY ENGAGED?
- Am I pushing myself hard enough (at edge?)<-> Am I pushing myself too hard (crashing)?
- Austerity/discomfort, challenge (what do I fear? –> Go do it)
- Relaxing breaks, baths, music, poetry, sleeping/naps, …
- Am I severely neglecting one area of my life that’s infecting others?
Plan Next Day
- What are the most important things to focus my energy on tomorrow? (3 – 4 important tasks)
- What will I write about tomorrow?
- What will my ultimate life be like? visualize perfect life and let it manifest
Weekly Reflection
Am I getting weaker or stronger? (upward spiral or downward spiral?)
Who am I trying to be (what person am I?)
What are my current character flaws?
Solution?
Check on my goal template
Where am I now? Health? Financially? Socially/romantically?
Where do I want to be?/Do I need a change in direction?
Why do I want this?
What are my top 5 priorities at this point? (actions)
What’s working (do more of this) & What isn’t working (do less of this)
Am I making the right decisions for the long term? What will I regret when I’m 80?
What are the recurring problems I need to fix?
Re-prioritize my reading list
I simply write the answers down in my journal to get a nice overview of how I’m progressing over time.
How?
- Keep a hand-written paper journal/digital journal
- Write before 9PM (set a timer) I found personally that my mind starts to shut down after 9PM and I start writing gibberish in my journal.
- Just Write Something. The most important thing when it comes to journaling is to make it a consistent habit. Whenever you feel like you don’t really want to write down anything, do it anyway. Just make it short.
Essence
How many people actually ask themselves these self reflection questions?
How many people actually consciously decide what kind of person they want to be and where they want go in their life?
If you’re reading this post, you’re the exception!
Anyway, what should be taken away from this post?
- Do a full self-reflection every week/evening! (start right NOW!)
- Get yourself a journal!
If you’re able to this self reflection regularly there’s no telling how much progress you’ll able to make in a very short amount of time.