With all the distractions that we face on a daily basis we need to be intentional about personal reflection. Are we pursuing things because we want to pursue them or because we think that we should? How can we know ourselves on the deep level needed for personal growth, career clarity, and life fulfillment if we are constantly filling our time with television, social media, and various tasks? Do we decide on our next steps by considering who we are or do we follow what is typical behavior?

We need to take time to reflect. We need to stop and think.

When I don’t know what the next step is in one area of my life, it’s time to stop and think. I am noticing that this often means that I have let other things take my focus and attention or that my attention is being swayed by a limiting belief.

My lack of clarity becomes the cue for personal reflection.

I am working to develop a personal reflection habit to regularly engage those areas that I need more clarity in. Below are 3 tips from my experience so far. I wanted to share these tips in hopes that we can all become more intentional with our personal reflection.

Tips for Intentional Reflection

1.  Find a quiet area-you want to create the space for your mind to uncover the beliefs that aren’t from you or that are held together by limiting beliefs.

2. Listen with grace-you are a work in progress and being too hard on yourself for not catching this sooner will hinder your progress.

3. Do it in steps-you took in these ideas over time and recovering your hold on the truth can take some time as well.

I hope these 3 tips for intentional reflection will get you started with developing your personal reflection  habit.

Here’s to gaining clarity about our behavior.

Here’s to gaining clarity for next steps.

Questions: Is there an area in your life that would benefit from intentional reflection? Are there beliefs that were picked up from the world around you that aren’t truly how you want to act or believe?

Behavior Challenge: Find some quiet this week and give yourself time to think and reflect on one of your current struggles. See if you can identify one reason you are struggling in this area. Go deep into the reflection. The surface answer is a good start, but the challenge is to dig into the layers below the surface.

Comment on this post if you are ready to try some personal reflection.