Reflection is the Key

You spend a significant amount of your time at your job each year.  How can you make this an enjoyable and rewarding experience that you look forward to every day?  You are probably wondering how you can boost your job satisfaction.   One way that you can do this is by doing a purposeful reflection on a regular basis each week. Self-reflection and journaling are two powerful ways to evaluate the different aspects of your job, the people you work with and the people you serve under.

Self-reflection plays an essential part of your attitude and happiness towards work.  It can help you stretch yourself, step out of your comfort zone and advance your career success, allowing you to create the roadmap of where you want to go and how you want to be in life.

In order to practice self-reflection, you need to find a quiet place at home or outside where you can tune out everything else.  This means turning off electronics and not being disturbed for a period of time.  I find that 15 minutes is an ideal time to get comfortable and let go of everything so you can begin thinking and reflecting on your current and future vision.  It allows you to get focused and let the thoughts and feelings emerge.  It is important to let the process happen and not get caught up in rigid formula to do it each time.  Sometimes just free writing is helpful because you need to let your feelings flow and see what themes and patterns emerge.   Maybe it would be helpful to focus on the following questions or prompts below to help you move forward.

During your quiet time, ask yourself the following questions:

• Who do I want to become?
• What is my dream job?
• Why is this my dream job?

These questions will help you focus your reflection and get in touch with your feelings and core values that are driving your life.  You need to think back to past stories and experiences that may have influenced you and shaped your characteristics and behavior.  Each person experiences and thinks about things differently.

An additional question to ask yourself is “What impact do I want to make?”  Think about how you want your career and life to impact others or the company you are working for.  Put your sights on something that is meaningful for you and you will be surprised at how you will weave this into your daily work and existence.

In the end, trust the process.  You need to be honest with yourself.  Focus on developing yourself and watch your life and work grow to become the person you want to be.

I know you can do it!  (I think you know that, too!)