The Art of Reflection: Feel Your Way to a Happier Life. Sundays We Review!

“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” ~Steve Jobs

Let me start by saying, I love Sundays. Ever since I was a little girl, I loved what Sunday brings . Sometimes Sundays bring a dinner spent with loved ones or relaxing out in nature. But, most times Sunday is the day I spend preparing for the week ahead, resetting mental health, and practicing self care. I used to spend them waking up in mid afternoon and sometimes being hungover, not knowing time was being wasted. Its been three years since my stroke and I can proudly say I have changed into a a better mindful person. I am compassionate, kind and so very strong in so many ways.

Sundays are both the ending and the beginning of the week which makes perfect time for reflection. Being a full time student in Real Estate, a business entrepreneur and author my days are always full and never a waste of time. I live a very authentic life and love to be present as much as I can.

One of the best ways I’ve found to develop wisdom is through reflection. While reflection might look like a quiet session of daydreaming, it’s actually an active process during which you enrich your life and encourage personal growth by reviewing parts of your day or the past week. What I didn’t know back then was how to be present, listen to my inner voice, and ultimately how to reflect in order to learn. Yes I am human and still make mistakes and do have fear and other emotions I still practice to control and not react.

My pattern of not listening to my inner voice continued for years until I began to make a conscious effort to trust my intuition, reflect, and learn from my experiences. My patterns of not trusting myself showed up with my relationships, jobs, school programs, and apparently, moves. Looking back, I know the reason I was indecisive was because I did not trust my gut and pay attention to what I was feeling. I made fear-based decisions. After some practice with reflection, I now realize that my inner voice does always know.

What I’ve learned is that while our busy lives can make it seem difficult to reflect on our experiences, taking some time for self-reflection is necessary if we are to learn and grow.

Reflection helps us to build upon the successful moments and break free from the self-doubt that holds us back from embracing our true dreams and living a fulfilling life.

I think it’s important to be clear that I am not talking about reliving negative experiences of the past. Dwelling in the past is just as unproductive and unhealthy as stressing about the future.

We can’t change the past. What we can do, though, is use self-compassion to reflect on and learn from what is happening right now.

This is what helps us to embrace a vibrant life and allows our spirit to flourish to what needs to happen next. No need to worry about yesterday because it no longer is available to change.