What is reflection?
It is thinking about one’s own feelings, analyzing one’s own actions and their reasons by talking to oneself. You can evaluate both the past and the present. Ancient philosophers were the first to talk about reflection and its meaning. Today, the term is used in psychology and education.
The ability to reflect is already evident at primary school age, and in adolescents self-reflection is of central importance for behavioral decisions and self-development. Adults, on the other hand, do not always find the time for such reflection.
Why it is useful to reflect
Because it allows you to recognize your past mistakes and avoid making them in the future. Reflection also gives you the opportunity to come to terms with your true feelings and desires. When we reflect on the past, we can understand the unconscious motives for our behavior and correct them. For example, by finding an activity that you really enjoy rather than one that someone else has forced on you.
Working through mistakes helps you to become more effective. A Harvard Business School study found that reflective call center employees performed 23{06f5282250a57a7043b09bc557e9da16ce2673ff5b6f5abf537169784c940b4f} better than those who didn’t reflect on themselves. The former understood what was required of them more quickly and were more confident in making decisions.
By listening to ourselves, we also learn to listen to others, which helps us to better understand others and recognize their feelings.
When thinking becomes too much
Sometimes thinking can take up too much space in life and become a self-examination. In this case, a person spends all their time thinking about themselves, their past, their present situation and their future. For example, they constantly replay situations from two years ago in their head and think about how best to proceed.
Such thoughts lead to a deterioration of the mental state. One possible reason is an incorrect approach to self-analysis. For example, those who constantly ask themselves “Why?” are likely to focus on all problems at the same time. Such thinking is unlikely to improve things.
The result of persistent self-analysis can be cyclical negative thoughts. They cause a person to repeatedly experience pain, fear, despair and other unpleasant feelings. Such a condition can lead to long-lasting and severe depression.
