What is self-reflection?
Reflection aims to explore events and times that contribute to your life. It will help you build context, gain perspectives, understanding, and to identify learnings and insights – a great foundation as you discover your purpose.
For most people the end point isn’t clear, but some awareness of your forward moving focus helps you navigate in the right general direction. The journey begins with understanding … and also with a destination or outcome in mind.
Adjustments to our direction take place over time.
At Equipe Coaching, we refer to the desired endpoint as your ‘Calling’, with the different stages along the way being referred to as your stages of ‘Purpose’. Different stages of purpose act as stepping-stones towards our Calling. These might include such things as study, skill development, financial opportunities, opportune circumstances, the right people, and more.
What does my past say about my present and future?
Our past has already been written, so we use this to identify areas of strength to build upon. Consider the areas of pain as potential future growth areas, since these resolved areas can be anchor points of strength.
Unresolved areas of pain often create a deficit in you being your authentic self.
This often plays out as conscious and unconscious limiting behaviour, toxic character traits, viewing the world and interactions with others through a distorted lens. It can affect relationships, your personal abilities, and your future potential.
As mentioned previously, our areas of greatest pain, when effectively dealt with can become our greatest area of strength. Either way it will affect our future.
By reflecting on your past – trends, strengths, observations by others about you, etc. – you can use these observations to help decide present actions, which set the path towards your future.
Benefits of reflection
Information in all its forms is power – and empowering. In taking the time to reflect we are acknowledging information and building context and understanding. Self-reflection helps us to reveal the highlights and the significant moments in our life and positive reflections often help us reveal areas of strength, which lend themselves to further growth.
Negative or challenging reflections help us highlight areas which limit our future potential. When dealt with, these areas of pain can often become our greatest area of strength as we identify reoccurring themes, create awareness and broadens perspectives and build the capability to make ‘out of the moment’ decisions.
Why should we reflect on our past?
Removing distraction to reflect on our past does not mean focusing on the why or the how – we simply like to focus on the “what” of the moment or the memory. When we do this, we are removed from the intensity of the situation when it was our present, and we now have the privilege of hindsight.
Reflection of the past positions us with greater self-awareness and a foundational viewpoint from which we can reflect upon when considering future decisions.
…“An examined life creates a life worth living.”
So many working parents find themselves at a stage in their lives where life seems to have happened to them – rather than them being in the driver’s seat. At a particular time and space they look around to see a life they don’t understand – they are frustrated and unfulfilled and they struggle to recognise the person in the mirror. It’s never too late however, to take the wheel and steer life beyond the potholes. Taking stock begins with stepping out of peak hour and into a small lane of quiet – if only for a time. Reflection is the very beginning of the journey that helps determine the events in your life that have landed you in your here and now.
How does Equipe Coaching work with me to identify what is relevant?
Equipe Coaching creates opportunities of self-discovery and personal revelation, through reflective exercises and curious conversations. This information is mapped in a format which helps identify significant trends and uses these as a foundation for your future momentum. Coaching conversations help draw out key themes and significant moments to be considered for future direction and growth. Read more about how your journey of self-discovery will unfold or call us today to arrange a complimentary discovery session.