... but I'm still holding onto my dreams.
It's September! Just 4 months before we kiss 2020 goodbye.
There's no denying that this year has shown us the importance of living in the moment and being grateful for life, and finding creative ways to sustain ourselves. Yet on the other hand, you're probably sitting feeling a slight sense of despair and just going through the motions.
Whilst we have no control over some things, or things may not have gone how we had planned or hoped for, one thing we should try to do is to take moments to Self Reflect.
Afterall, we are creatures of habit and routines; Self Reflecting helps us develop our skills and assess their effectiveness.
It's not easy, but doing it in a positive way, self reflecting by taking the time to analyse and think about every minor aspect of your life, your purpose, and your place in this world can be beneficial to your overall well-being.
It's like dismantling the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle and taking the time to figure it out and put it back together again.
To begin our self reflection for personal development, we must become self-aware. This is the practice of focusing on all the aspects of our behaviour and our personalities as they all make up who we are as individuals.
I'm lucky to have this beautiful location that's ideal for sitting by the rocks and taking it all in. However, self reflection can be done anywhere at any time, whether in small pockets of breaks throughout your day, while taking a shower, in bed, while cooking meals, or even on your commute to work. To be effective, it's better to self reflect when you are alone to avoid distractions, and when you are more relaxed.
'Remember, we all have control over our minds, so we should train it the way we want it to be.'
There's power in silence and stillness. These are the moments when taking the time to focus on our breaths, to inhale vitality and exhale tension and negativity,
'It's important to learn to focus our minds without hardening our intentions.'
Do you get easily distracted?
I certainly do! My thoughts are very random!
To overcome this and keep my mind organised, I tend to write my thoughts down in a journal (just notebooks, nothing flowery and fancy). This helps to engage my mind as to what to reflect and focus on and gives me insight to my basic feelings and my actions.
My boss used to say: "Camille, I would love to know what goes on in your mind"...and I would always reply: "Me too!"
Now, by keeping a reflective journal, I have a deepened understanding of myself and I'm better able to make sense of my life, my beliefs, my actions and reactions to situations.
Other benefits gained from my self-reflecting using my daily journals, is that I'm more intuned with my emotions and better able to channel my energy in positive ways. This helps me to feel more present and alive in my spirit and towards things as they unfold around me.
I'm an advocate of alternative remedies and try to implement them in my daily routine. This makes my moments of self reflection for self improvement easier and more rewarding.
If you're at a point in your life where you think you could perhaps benefit from some self reflection, here are some steps that you could take:
- Focus your mind on what you are going to reflect on. This is by identifying what has been troubling you.
- Be still, in a comfortable environment (maybe a quiet place by the sea, or in a garden)
- Be aware of the moments of stillness and be comfortable with it. It's natural that thoughts will come into your mind, but remember, you are in control of your mind.
- Identify just one area to focus your thoughts on.
- Gauge your core values and beliefs to get a better insight of yourself.
- Determine if you're still true to your core values.
- Are you happy completely, or do you see the need to make a change
- Try to change the way you think about that single thought that you have been focusing on.
- Try to have a new appreciation of the positive change that will result from doing these reflections.
You're probably thinking, c'mon this is not me...I'm not that weirdo to sit looking out with nothing but my thoughts... But I honestly believe it's a small exercise that we owe to ourselves, as it's worth spending time to reflect on our day to day experiences and what we learn everyday about people, ourselves, and the world.
2020 is slipping away...probably not a bad thing, for this year has been err, a peculiar one.
Regardless, I'm still holding on to my dreams and aspirations while slowly working towards my goals.
I'm staying focused by self reflecting, adjusting my goals, and overall, accepting things for what they are, but trying to stay above it all.
You are stronger than you think. Keep Holding On!
Folks, thank you for reading.
So long! Till my next blog!