What am I doing that I donвЂ™t enjoy, and what am I doing that I love? What are the things that other people want me to do? What are the things that I want to do? What is on my schedule that doesnвЂ™t need to be there? What things can be abandoned or at least cut back? What obligations am I creating for six months from now that I will regret then? 5. What are the experiences I want to have? 4. What would I do if I were guaranteed success? 3. What are five non-negotiable values in my life? 2. So as you get ready to reflect (with pen and paper in hand), here are five questions to help get you started: 1. ItвЂ™s too late for me.вЂќ Whatever occurred in the past is history, and yes, there is life after failure. Maybe youвЂ™re saying, вЂњIвЂ™ve made a lot of mistakes. What are your values? What do you believe in? What do you hold onto? That truly makes you the person you are. We are quick to answer what I doВ questions, but your identity is not what you do, or who you know-itвЂ™s who you are. Before doing, knowing and going, settle the question: What do I truly value and want?В This wonвЂ™t happen without reflection. And the more authentic you become, the greater is your sense of well-being. Leadership expert Warren Bennis says, вЂњTo be authentic is literally to be your own author, to discover your own native energies and desires, and then to find your own way of acting on them.вЂќ The more authentic we become, the more we areВ authoringВ our lives, and not simply living someone elseвЂ™s script. Honesty leads to a more accurate picture, and accuracy leads to authenticity. ItвЂ™s about being honest with who and where you are, and what you really want. Without honest self-reflection, you can spend a lot of energy trying to find the right image to project to others. But these distortions are not funny! It actually minimizes who you really are and what you really want. What you see determines your behavior-often subconsciously. The point? We all have an internal mirror that reflects how we see ourselves. I laughed until I cried because I knew what I saw was not the real me-the authentic me. The tiny lobby on the way out was lined with wildly curved mirrors reflecting distorted images of myself. I would leave with knots on my head and bruises on my knees.

I loved going to the carnival as a kid, and I especially enjoyed the fun house, running through the maze of mirrors, totally confused as to which way I should go. Authenticity is about getting closer to our true identity. In other words, we become more authentic. Our experiences will not become insights without evaluating: Where I am, and why am I here?В This in turn will help us to get to where we want to go. Without reflection, your life becomes happenstance-activity without insight. Reflection is looking in so you can look out with a broader, bigger and more accurate perspective. There is no real learning process, sense of discovery or insight without reflection. In the same way, taking the time to reflect on circumstances or events in your life will bring you new insights.

When you look in the mirror, the image goes in, turns back and reflects. The wordВ вЂњreflectвЂќВ in Latin means toВ вЂњbend back, turn back.вЂќ Take the example of your reflection in the mirror. In fact, it can lead some to pessimism, or even depression. Stopping there not only limits your perspective, it can also diffuse it. The famous Irish poet Oscar Wilde once said,В вЂњThe final mystery is oneself.вЂќВ But how do you unravel the mystery that is you? This canвЂ™t happen without self-awareness, and self-awareness wonвЂ™t happen withoutВ reflection.Д«ut what does reflection really mean? Reflection is different from introspection.

Reflection questions