Positive Self-reflection

As the year comes to an end, it is very common to feel reflective and want to look back on the year. Self-reflection is important to promote growth, but it can also lead to feelings of depression and anxiety and can lead us to self-criticism and feelings of failure. Engaging in self-reflection in a positive way comes with a greater sense of control, self-awareness, and alignment with the things that are important to us.

Here are a few tips for making sure that self-reflection is a positive experience:

• Don’t focus on just the negative. It is easy to feel drawn towards reflecting on mistakes and the things that did not go well. It is important to make sure that self-reflection also includes thoughts about your strengths, accomplishments, and positive qualities. When thinking about mistakes or weaknesses, make sure to dedicate time to also reflecting on how you can or did grow through those mistakes.
• Avoid judging yourself and your actions. Self-criticism and judgmental thoughts contribute to feeling worse about ourselves. When reflecting on our mistakes, approach them with curiosity and simply try to notice all the thoughts and feelings coming up. If you find yourself being judgmental, consider what you might say to a friend who was experiencing something similar. Practicing self-compassion can help us to acknowledge our weakness or mistakes while also giving ourselves patience and forgiveness so we can grow.
• Incorporate gratitude. After reflecting on the ups and downs, it can be beneficial to end your self-reflection with some expressions of gratitude. Taking time to not only think about what happened and why but also the things that you appreciate in your life. There are many benefits for practicing regular expressions of gratitude including feeling more connected as well as more positive emotions.

Self-reflection can help us process our lived experiences and identify the ways that we want to continue to grow but it is easy to fall into a cycle of self-doubt and criticism.