Have you heard those inner voices that seem to be pushing back against your goals and desires? I recently delved into Internal Family Systems therapy, which seeks to understand these internal dynamics better. After some self-reflection, I have discovered five critical ways that inner reflection can create a more supportive relationship with ourselves. Although I’m not a therapist, I wanted to share these five benefits I have received from inner reflection. I hope you find these helpful.
- Get to know yourself better: By taking the time to stop and reflect on your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, you can gain insight into who you are – your values, priorities, motivations, and triggers – and use that information to help you make decisions.
- Understand your emotions better: Taking time for self-reflection allows us to identify and understand our emotional triggers instead of blindly reacting out of habit or fear. This can enable us to move through emotional challenges with greater clarity and objectivity.
- Develop healthier relationships: As we understand ourselves more deeply through reflection, we also become more capable of connecting with others in meaningful ways by expressing ourselves authentically and being open to feedback.
- Embrace creativity: Reflection helps expand our outlook by enabling us to see things from different angles so we are not limited by ingrained beliefs or habits that might be blocking us from accessing our full creative potential.
- Pursue personal growth: By becoming aware of our choices in life — what’s been working for us or hindering us — inner reflection opens possibilities for making conscious changes towards achieving our goals that support our well-being and happiness.