THIS IS ABOUT “PROBABLY the most underused tool in the world.” If you want to improve your clarity, your certainty, your creativity and your confidence (and some more), then this article is for you.
(Hint: It’s not what you think it is.)
It’s…drum roll:
Your brain.
More specifically, the lost art of self-reflection.
Bummer.
I know, you may have expected some incredibly deep philosophy, or a crazy whacky tactic.
While articles on self-reflection can be quite deep and philosophical, I want to keep it on a surface level for today. Reason why is I hate it when people promise you a mystical way to improve your life, and then all they basically do is puking a 10,000+ word article in your face (and hoping you buy their woo-woo product or coaching eventually). Not enjoyable.
Here’s the quick answer:
What I like to do (and has helped me tremendously over the past few years) is this.
1.) I do one thing every day.
2.) I do one thing every Sunday.
That’s it.
End of story.
Just kidding.
1.) Every day:
I review my one-page Meaningful Life Daily Reminder sheet. Yeah, I created and named it this way back in 2015. Still thinking of a better name… here’s the main thing, though:
It works for me.
It’s a one-page document that includes the most important parts of my life: My values, my strengths, the skills I want to master, my purpose/mission, which emotions I want to feel on a consistent basis.
At the moment, I’m also working with Brendon Burchard’s “High Performance Planner.” It has a clear structure, is easy-to-use.
I also set up several reminders throughout the day to be more self-aware. This, in turn, helps me self-reflect my actions. Over the years, I’ve developed myself into a man I’m proud of. Not where I finally want to be, but on the right path.
Last but not least, I meditate whenever I feel I need to calm myself down or when switching from one task to a completely unrelated task (such as replying to email, after finishing writing an article like this one). After the meditation and before starting the new task, I sometimes ask myself questions like I do every Sunday.
2.) Every Sunday:
I review my actions. What did I set out I’d do? Have I followed through? If so, great! If not, why didn’t I? What can I do better next time? What did I learn?
I try to keep myself out of the picture; only judging my actions, not myself as a person.
By the time of this writing, I’ve written a weekly email to my mentor for over a year now. We’re at weekly review #67 now. While he’s not responding to each email, it helps me hold myself accountable. He does answer most of time, though.
Which is another important point:
Getting constructive feedback is priceless. Most people these days don’t want to tell you the truth. They sugarcoat things, too afraid to upset you or make you feel angry at them. I highly encourage you to seek out people who are brutally honest with you. I met several in my life time, and they are good friends too.
–Mario M. Montreal