Reflection time

What does reflection mean to you? Does it feel like an obligation or something you should do? Do you hate reflecting? Or is it something you like to do because you experience the benefits? No matter what you think about reflection, around this time of the year it’s the one thing everyone seems to be talking about: ‘Reflecting’. ‘It’s the end of the year and everyone should reflect on the previous year and sets their goals for 2018.’ Hopefully you all enjoyed a wonderful Christmas, but there is no time to sit back and relax: you should have reflected on 2017 and set a clear path towards your goals in 2018 already. Or at least that is what society is telling us, almost demanding from us. But what does reflection do? Why should you reflect? What does it give me and why should you even consider it? Find out below how I reflect and most importantly what it is giving me!

---

Reflection is often seen as a heavy word. It’s a word that equals making a SWOT analysis. It equals going deep and finding your strengths and weaknesses in order to reflect on them. It equals taking the time to figure out what you have done and if the action you took are the right ones. Basically, it equals taking a lot of effort, right?!

So should you reflect? Should you take that time out? Should you even consider it? Well, that’s completely up to you. For me, it is giving major benefits and I find it really profound and helpful. Let me explain to you why.
 
First of all, I did some research to compare what the Internet has to say about reflection and what I have to say about reflection. According to Rybo Chen reflection has many benefits, such as: it helps you learn from your mistakes, it gives you great ideas, it makes you happier, it gives you perspective, and it helps you understand yourself better.

Reasons that sound really appealing, right? They want to make you start reflecting right away, don’ t they? Reflection is one of those things you should definitely take into consideration in order to grow and develop. But as we know there are so many other things we should do in order to grow and develop. Therefore, I would like to share my personal experience with reflection with you.

I believe reflection is a really powerful thing you can do because it gives me clarity and helps me to move forward towards my goals. It helps me to think back on my actions and figure out if I agree with the actions I took or not. It gives me the clarity to know if I am on the right path or not.

 Let me explain that in further detail. When I started journaling, I never did any reflection. I couldn’t be bothered and didn’t feel like I wanted to take the time for it. I enjoyed the ride, and was fine with whatever happened along the journey. So reflecting was something I didn’t really feel like doing.
 
However, when feeling off for a couple of days, I realized I was missing something; a moment of clarity. Or perhaps the moment of just taking the time for myself, apart from meditation.  

After having some conversations with my buddy Rody, who is a master in reflecting (which he probably won’t agree on), I realized I should take more time to reflect back. That’s when I started to do a Sunday morning reflecting. I wish I could say ever Sunday, but at least I try to do it every Sunday, I take the time to reflect using Brendon Buchard’s clarity chart.

It is helping me to direct my energy and intentions into the fields I want to direct my intentions to. Moreover, it is making me realize in what areas am lacking focus in that week. In addition, it is showing me how my week went. It is showing me what things are bothering me and what things are giving me joy. It shows me how I lived the past week and what the results were. An amazing way to just take a few minutes to see what I have done and what results it gave me, in order to grow and develop in the upcoming week. Maybe most importantly, it helps me to learn from my mistake, instead of making them again.
 
So is now the time and place where I should reflect on 2017? Should I make this a long blog again because I have the desire to share how amazing and awesome my year went? I don’t think so. It has been an amazing year, full of lessons. I have gained a tremendous amount of experience and have grown as a person. But this blog is not meant to be about my 2017. It is meant to be about you.
 
Have you ever considered reflection time? Have you ever done it? Do you do it on regular basis? What’s your experience with it? Whatever your experiences might be, it doesn’t matter. You don’t need to reflect if you don’t feel like it. However, if you feel a kind of lost, or just not clear on where you are going I would definitely advise you to start reflecting.
 
How was your Christmas? Did you enjoy your time with your family or was fighting over some stupid subjects the only thing you did? What did you achieve in 2017? What was your best moment? And what was the worst? What’s the one thing you learned? What are you going to improve in 2018?

If you feel like you would like to share your reflection, if you have any questions or if you just want to connect, please send me an email on this email address: Daanjac@hotmail.com or say hi over on Instagram! I am curious to know how 2017 went for you!
 
Have an amazing New Year’s Eve and a profound 2018! It will be a year going to be full of challenges but you will conquer them! Have a great time with your loved ones and a happy 2018!! You rock! Cheers!