This entire year has been a series of trudging into the unknown, and as the year begins to come to a close, it becomes increasingly crucial to reflect on how far we’ve come. Reflection is the key to self-awareness which is key to growing as an individual. It helps us move forward with all the lessons we have learned and all the perspectives we have gained from this year and leave behind all that no longer serves us. Self-reflection is the process of processing your thoughts and feelings and taking the time to organize all the thoughts and feelings that have been floating around in your head and in your heart. Organizing your thoughts makes all the feelings you have felt this year easier to navigate and will encourage you to keep moving forward with a clearer head and a more peaceful heart.
Although this year has thrown a lot of unexpected obstacles in our direction, we should all be proud that despite everything, we continue to move forward and hold on to hope, on an individual level, and as a society. Some days we may feel closer to conquering those obstacles than others, but nevertheless, every day that you get up in the morning and do something good for either yourself or for someone else is a victory. It can be as simple as enjoying a cup of coffee or taking a walk or something as grand as working towards your dreams, and everything in between. The important thing is that throughout this year, we have continuously gotten up and that we have continuously held on to hope for better days to come. There may have been days where you saw this as a far off reality and decided to wallow, but there is no need to feel shame in that either. Cry if you need to, but always remember to continue to get up.
We can choose to be prisoners of our fears and of the unknown, or we can choose to reflect on the year and realize how strong and resilient we actually are, and how brave we have been in the face of all that has happened, and use that reflection to keep moving forward. A lot of us tend to create limiting narratives about ourselves such as: “It’s amazing that they can do that, but I’ll never be able to”. This kind of narrative reflects unawareness of the fact that we are all equally as human and that we are fully capable of whatever we set our minds to and this is why reflection is so important. It makes you realize how far you’ve come, how you can most likely do things now that you never imagined you’d be able to, and you still have a long way to go. Keep moving forward and reflect along the way. The journey is never easy but taking the time to stop, think, and appreciate will make it all the smoother.
