Reflecting on Your Inner Voice

How to Honor Yourself by Journaling Your Self-Reflections

We’re all beautifully impressionable. One of the defining characteristics of the human condition is the ability to understand and empathize with one another as we filter incoming messages from the world to guide us. In many cases we adapt to these messages, incorporating them into our lifestyle as we see fit. We join ice bucket challenges to help a cause, go to yoga in the park to stay healthy as a group and download the latest on-the-go mindfulness apps. Taking in these messages allows us to connect to others who feel the same way as we do. We feel we’re a part of the larger picture; we feel connected to our communities, local and global.

What are the messages you have for yourself when you’re in the comfort of your own space?

How do you move yourself to action and ensure your actions are in line with your goals?

How do you self-reflect on what’s speaking from inside you?

Reflecting On Your Own Messages

The process of self-reflection is what happens when you take a momentary break from outside voices and turn your attention inward. It’s in these moments of peering inside where the outside world is gently muted and your unique voice finds its space to speak. It’s a moment of clarity and purity. When you do this, what speaks from within you, and how do capture it?

“I learned how to feel comfortable with myself, without relying on external sources to validate me.”

“ My father’s passing. I know now what it is to grieve someone you love. My father, who taught me so many things – to appreciate natural beauty, music, silence – has now taught me this. It somehow feels appropriate that he was the one to teach me this lesson.”

“I want to be more forgiving with myself and other people, more trusting of myself and other people, more loving of myself and other people.”

“Fear of success, fear of speaking out, fear of being me. I’m always holding back. I want to get past that. I want to live my full potential, be full present and fully me. Time spent for myself and working on my health will help with confidence/acceptance. More meditative time will help with grounding.”

“I fell in love for the first time in my life. Pure, unadulterated, blissfully happy love. The kind of love that makes you smile like a lunatic when walking down the street. I didn’t know it was possible to love like this and while it isn’t always easy, and neither my partner nor I are perfect, we’re learning how to be the best partners we can be and I feel proud of us for it.”

Often, we come face to face with our honest selves as we embrace self-reflection. Tools exist to help normalize, ritualize, navigate and celebrate the things that come to surface when we take a deep inward listen. Most of all, when you actively record and journal your reflections, you capture pieces of yourself that can guide you and provide you an honest compass of who you are, and where you’d like to go.

Benefits of Journaling Your Own Reflections

• Create your own personal ritual of honoring your reflections which you can turn into a regular practice of self-empowerment.
• Have goals and dreams surface which you haven’t thought about or realized from the busyness of your everyday life.
• Respond to your feelings, goals or dreams with intention and action, addressing anything that may come up instead of letting it slip.
• Address long-held beliefs, behaviors or practices and record them so they exist on something tangible instead of inside, so you can take action and resolve them.
• Celebrate who you are on a regular basis!

10Q and Self-Reflection

10Q is a practice in self-reflection by honoring the messages that come from within you and recording them. It’s a free digital journaling platform that emails you 10 questions over 10 days which help inspire contemplative and introspective thought. The questions are designed to help you reflect on where you were this past year, where you are now, and set intentions for the year ahead. After 10 days, the answers you’ve provided will be locked in a digital vault for one year. The same time next year, you’ll receive your answers back. You’ll be able to see how you’ve grown in one year, what has changed and what has stayed the same. Then, the process begins anew.

Some examples of the questions in 10Q are:

• Describe a significant experience that has happened in the past year. How did it affect you? Are you grateful? Relieved? Resentful? Inspired?
• Describe an event in the world that has impacted you this year. How? Why?
• What is a fear that you have and how has it limited you? How do you plan on letting it go or overcoming it in the coming year?

During the past decade, over 50,000 people have signed up for this annual self-reflection practice, and it continues to be an important annual practice. This year’s 10Q vault closes 10/8, so you can sign up and answer all 10 questions before then.

To learn more and sign up for your own 10Q experience, visit the website at www.doyou10Q.com.

Commit to Yourself

Establishing a regular check-in routine is a key part of celebrating who you are. When you take time to address the feelings, thoughts or behaviors you have on your own set schedule, you’re choosing to create a daily lifestyle filled with excitement, meaning and intention. So, ask yourself, what comes up from within when you take time to listen?

About the Author:

Robert Simakovsky of 10Q