How to Use Self Reflection to Achieve Your Goals

Life is becoming fast paced, in fact, our lives have never been busier then we are today, and this is the number one reason why we need to master the power of self-reflection. What are the benefits of self-reflection? How can self-reflection enable me to achieve my goals and new years resolutions?

Good or Bad?

Over the years self-reflection has been given a bad reputation, we are taught that self-focus is destructive and leads to narcissism which is the pinnacle of a, me first attitude without any regard to an individuals surrounding world. There is a distinct difference between self-focus, self-criticism and self-reflection. Self-focus is simply turning your focus off the outside world and onto your self, however, self-criticism takes the process one step further by viewing yourself and your actions through a critical lens, but there is no evaluation or application, a simple highlight of what is not working without regard to what is actually going on beneath the surface because we do not fail or mess up in a vacuum; its important to note that life doesn’t always transpire as originally planned, nevertheless it is beneficial to understand why or how events go wrong, because a moment of failure is an opportunity to learn to better yourself and to take a different and more effective course of action.

Much Needed Time-Out

Self-reflection gives you an opportunity to take a much-needed time out from your busy fast paced life to simply, slow down, pause and reflect in order to take stock of where you are, where you are going and what you are doing. We often fail to take the time to reflect upon where we are at in life and without self-reflection we may never achieve our dreams and as a result, we risk going down a path or in a direct...

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...achieve their goals because they do not break them down into bite sized chunks. When you reflect upon the small actionable steps or perhaps a lack of actionable steps, it takes your focus of the large goals and onto small daily tasks, which contribute to a larger goal. This reflective question enables you to highlight the small things you have achieved or where you are going wrong and gives you an opportunity to make the necessary corrections for tomorrow.

Ask yourself, what can I do differently tomorrow that will bring me closer to achieving my goals? It is important to realise that everyone falls of the wagon at some point, but the key to successfully achieving your goals is not to see these moments as a permanent failure but a temporary glitch or moment. When you ask yourself this question, you shift your mind-set from failure to how can I do things differently.