Summer is the time of year when most people go on vacation. When the hustle and bustle of everyday life disappear, relaxation sets in and allows the mind to calm down, sort out thoughts, and indulge in self-reflection. However, self-reflection is not only a good way to improve your self-confidence and mental health on vacation. Another way to build up your self-confidence can be your scores at crazy time online.
A few days or weeks away from everyday life, relaxing, lying on the beach or in the outdoor pool. Warm evenings and nights lure you outdoors, the hectic pace of normal life falls away, and relaxation spreads. In conversation with friends or our thoughts, we listen to frogs and chirping crickets and often begin to think about ourselves and our lives as the stress subsides. Self-reflection can arise from the vacation mood.
But self-reflection should not just be left to the balmy summer nights. Constantly questioning and rethinking yourself, your behavior, and the decisions you make is an important step in your personal development. Those who take a critical look at their actions and activities in society are more mindful of themselves and their fellow human beings. In this way, we are not only better able to look after ourselves and our (physical and mental) health but also to help others and survive social crises more easily.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
To understand what is behind self-reflection, it is best to break the word down into its two parts “self” and “reflection”. The “self” refers to your person with all its facets. Strengths as well as weaknesses, likes, dislikes and talents, psychological and physical characteristics. But “self” also refers to experiences we have had. Things we have learned or socio-cultural values, in other words, everything that defines us as an individual. “Reflection” comes from “to reflect” and means to mirror, to relate. Self-reflection therefore means thinking about yourself, your behavior, your motives, and also your impact on your direct and indirect environment.
Self-reflection involves looking at all facets of yourself. Self-reflection allows us to search for our goals and desires. We learn to understand what drives us or prevents us from making progress. We scrutinize our interactions with others and our reactions to a certain situation. As a result, we become more mindful, live more consciously and thoughtfully, are less controlled by impulses, and are less at the mercy of our emotions. Only when we reflect on our actions can we learn from our mistakes and develop personally as a result.
Self-reflection also helps us to deal better with crises and conflicts. For example, by ask ourselves whether a certain sun lounger on the beach that someone else has snatched from under our noses is really that important, or whether it just represents a completely different problem. Self-reflection is therefore also a form of “mental hygiene” that is good for our mental health. If you think about yourself and your behavior, you get to know yourself better bit by bit and can expose potential (health or psychological) difficulties at an early stage.
This benefits not only ourselves but also our entire environment. One example of this is a conflict at work, with customers or colleagues. Being self-reflective here helps us to react less emotionally and approach the problem with objective arguments. Which can ensure that a solution is found that suits everyone involved. Self-reflection also ensures that we can enjoy our evening at home after work because we have analyzed the situation and come to a conclusion. This is important for our psyche, which needs recovery phases after mental exertion just as much as our body does.
