Are you reflecting?
I mean if you consciously spend time reflecting on the things you do and think.
Self-reflection is for me somewhere the beginning of everything if you want to change something in your life, company or more generally be in a more prosperous and good state. We can be stuck in patterns and life situations that push us into a negative spiral. Regardless, there are a few things that no one can take away from you unless you allow it. One is our thoughts and the other is what states you wish to be in. No one can own your thoughts or decide what states you should be in, unless you allow it. You have the power and choice to choose the thoughts that take you into the states you want to be in.
That said, I am not saying that it is easy to live that way. Like everything else, it is not a “quick fix”. However, it is a very powerful insight to live by if you can make it stick with you. And somewhere it starts with your self-reflection.
When you start reflecting and asking yourself questions about what you are thinking such as; Why and what are the thoughts coming from and what are they giving me? Do they lift me up or do I diminish myself with them? Whose truth is it? Is it mine or do they come from somewhere else?
Then you can also start to see any patterns that recur regardless of the context. Patterns that can be broken if you make them conscious. Patterns that only appear as thoughts in specific situations. It can also be something you do, acting in a particular way in situations that have commonalities even if the contexts are different.
Self-reflection also means starting to listen to the inside. What signals do you receive and how do you respond to them? Are you listening or ignoring? If you (often) feel out of balance, it could be a sign that you are doing something, but want something else. Do you say yes when you mean no? Or the other way around (You can read more about me and you sorting in this post)
Are you in the right workplace?
How many people out there are in a workplace they don’t like? Take a second to think about how your nervous system will feel if you spend eight hours a day (at least) in a place you don’t want to be? Even when the bell rings (or just before you fall asleep), anxiety creeps in. Wild. No. Vara. On. The job. When you walk into your workplace, you’ve already put yourself in a bad state, although outwardly you act like “well, hello – another good day at work”. On the inside you want to be somewhere else, but on the outside you are forced to be present in the work environment and with the tasks you have. It costs energy, it costs mind power and it costs your entire nervous system. Your brain has to work at full speed as you have an indirect negotiation going on all the time (not wanting to be here – “having” to be here). Then add all the other things that happen in a day, both before, during and after working hours. Because outside of work there is ‘life’, which also goes on 24/7, wherever we are and whatever we do. Life should be an experience with challenges, not just a challenging experience.
Reflection is opportunity and responsibility
Reflection for me is also to understand that I have opportunities and a responsibility to choose what makes me feel good. Sometimes the conditions are easier, sometimes more difficult. Either way, the responsibility is mine to move in the direction that takes me forward, even if the steps are slow as a turtle and small as an ant.
Self-reflection is also about taking control of your life and what you want to fill it with. What you think and do, what do you want it to lead to? If what you’re thinking and doing today is not what you want, then maybe it’s time to start thinking about what it could look like if you turn your gaze in that particular direction. Which contexts do you need to exclude, replace or adjust? Figure out what your real intention is with a new direction. What should it lead to and how do you want to feel?
Enterprise and reflection
In a company, it is equally important to reflect on where we are and where we are going. Sitting back and thinking we are happy, we can “stay here”, is like choosing to liquidate the company. Today we have technology that allows changes to happen and happen quickly. What is current today will be obsolete the day after tomorrow. Whether we like this development or not, businesses will reach a point where they will need to catch up, at least in a number of stations. Then it is also of great importance that the management has reflected on and put down on paper what values the company has, what is important to maintain the tone of the company, and what is the strategy to do just that, regardless of which trains you jump on. If the basic structure is not set, it is easy to become scattered when the pace increases. Volatile in the sense that all of a sudden you may be jumping on trains that are not related to your business or taking the direction you need to go to achieve goals. This leads to a lack of clarity for employees and poorer results. More energy needs to be spent on trying to understand what you are doing rather than the energy going towards the goal.
Continuous reflection of the company and in the different teams, departments, etc., also provides a strength in being able to check whether you are within the framework and stand firm in the intentions you have set to grow, create commitment, become more profitable, become more customer-oriented or whatever. Reflection also allows you to adjust the way forward at an early stage if something does not seem to be working optimally.
So reflect more often and do it fully!
/Rebecca
