by Phoenix Desertsong, The Prose Machine
Photo credit: Pixabay, Public Domain
Considering the many bumps in the road I've encountered in my life recently, it seems as good a time as any to reflect a bit about the topic of self-reflection. I've never been a vain person and many times I find that my own efforts at self-reflection tend to be lacking in much in the way of relate-able material. If anything, I've done my best self-reflection indirectly through poetry. Poetry has always been about turning my thoughts inside out and turn them into something constructive. That's pretty much self-reflection in a nutshell.
Wikipedia reminds us that that self-reflection is an uniquely human capacity. Having the capacity to be introspective, that is, examining one's own conscious thoughts and emotions, has often been more of a curse than a blessing. Sometimes it's quite possible to be far too introspective, to the point that you may not know where to start in self-reflecting. It's too easy for me to avoid looking in the mirror not to have to stare myself in the face. It's because most of the time I don't know what to think of myself.
This isn't the usually upbeat and peppy motivational material that I would like to write, but being honest is the most important thing when it comes to writing. If it's worth writing, you have to just be real about it. That being said, my recent self-reflection tells me that I simply don't reflect enough. I am far too critical of myself. It's hard for me to even write about myself, which is why I like to write rather abstractly, defining terms and trying to only sprinkle myself in here and there. It's rare that I simply "let go" and truly pour my heart onto the page.
That's what self-reflection really is all about though: being truthful with yourself, but without being destructively critical, and instead accepting the areas that you need to improve in. But more importantly, you need to reflect on what you are good at, and focus on building those strengths as best as you can. It's important to then use those strengths to improve in those lacking areas of your self.
Entire books could be written on the topic of self-reflection, but these are my few thoughts for now.
Wikipedia reminds us that that self-reflection is an uniquely human capacity. Having the capacity to be introspective, that is, examining one's own conscious thoughts and emotions, has often been more of a curse than a blessing. Sometimes it's quite possible to be far too introspective, to the point that you may not know where to start in self-reflecting. It's too easy for me to avoid looking in the mirror not to have to stare myself in the face. It's because most of the time I don't know what to think of myself.
This isn't the usually upbeat and peppy motivational material that I would like to write, but being honest is the most important thing when it comes to writing. If it's worth writing, you have to just be real about it. That being said, my recent self-reflection tells me that I simply don't reflect enough. I am far too critical of myself. It's hard for me to even write about myself, which is why I like to write rather abstractly, defining terms and trying to only sprinkle myself in here and there. It's rare that I simply "let go" and truly pour my heart onto the page.
That's what self-reflection really is all about though: being truthful with yourself, but without being destructively critical, and instead accepting the areas that you need to improve in. But more importantly, you need to reflect on what you are good at, and focus on building those strengths as best as you can. It's important to then use those strengths to improve in those lacking areas of your self.
Entire books could be written on the topic of self-reflection, but these are my few thoughts for now.
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