Tags
Clarifying, Exercise, journaling, Learning, Organizing, reflection, Thinking, Translating, Writing
When was the last time you sat down and thought about your life?
Many of us are moving at warp speed. We rush to work. We rush home from work. We rush to get dinner and chores done. Then we plop on our couch and watch a show or movie, read our Facebook newsfeed, or watch videos on TikTok, Snapchat, or Instagram. Then we go to bed to start all over again.
Reflection can occur as you journal, which is why I think journaling is such a great habit. Journaling allows us to gather all those random thoughts, reactions to situations in our lives, and anything else rattling around up there and translate it into words on a written page or typed on a digital one. The time we take to think about what we are feeling, where we are, where we want to go, and where we’ve been is healthy and it helps us clarify and define what is important to us.

Reflection can also occur when we take a walk, run, or exercise. Exercise can be quite mundane, particularly if you walk or run the same route. You see the same things; you hear the same things. When boredom kicks in, the mind wanders. You think about what happened today. You think about what you need to do. You think about what you’d like to do. Ideas come. The exercise coupled with this boredom is the perfect storm for reflection. I tend to do a lot of reflecting when I am watching a show that I’ve seen over and over again. The different scenes spark thoughts about this or that.

Listening to music is also a great time for reflection as different songs will bring up memories, motivate us, and spark our creativity. I tend to have a difficult time thinking when I’m listening to any music with vocals. The kind of music that helps me during my reflective periods is labeled focus by Apple Music. They are instrumental, low-key, and inspire me to think. I’m listening to some of this music now as I write this posting.

When is the best time to reflect? It really depends on you and your schedule. My best times are early morning when the rest of the house is asleep. I find this time to be very healing. I also find the peaceful calm of the early morning helpful to inspire pondering what is possible. I daydream if you will, while I journal and work out some sticky thoughts that need unravelling.
Sometimes it comes easy. Sometimes not so much. So, I write in my journal what comes to mind and always reread the previous day’s notes to see if I can reword something that is clearer now or jump into a new topic or stream of thought. I find the consistency of journaling is what makes it easy to capture everything because I never miss a day.
Reflection can also be captured by recording something on your smartphone using one of the apps for recording. I do this if I’m on a walk or working out. I don’t like to miss ideas or thoughts, so I capture everything and then listen to them when I have something to write or type with.
Here’s a short video that discusses the importance of reflection.
Well, that’s it for today, folks. I hope you have a great Thursday!
Until next time…
Dave