Change occurs the minute you stop allowing yourself to look past problems and see opportunities for a better future. Turn over the rocks, ask tough questions, hold yourself accountable for creating a better tomorrow. If you don’t, then who will?
Sometimes it can seem more beneficial and reasonable to ignore certain things. For example, perhaps there is a problem that doesn’t need to be solved right now or a challenge that will take more effort to address. It is okay to choose not to do something because the time isn’t right or because other things are a higher priority. However, it isn’t okay to bury your head in the sand and refuse to acknowledge their existence. Once you are aware, you have to address the situation, even if the answer is “not yet.”
“Self-reflection is a humbling process. It’s essential to find out why you think, say, and do certain things – then better yourself.”
Sonya Teclai
Can you be real with yourself? Truly honest? If you want to create a better version of yourself, the first step is to curate internal conversations that frankly won’t be very comfortable. Sometimes the hardest person to be truthful with is the one who lives inside our own minds.
For me, this starts with a willingness to ask tough questions and then sitting down with a journal to write out my answers. I find the act of writing to be the defining factor that allows me to separate my internal narrative, the story I believe in my head, from a broader and more instrospective truth. When I write the worlds flow from my hands without a filter, without a conscious narrative that distorts the truth.
Of course, the most important step is to find the right questions. The easiest way to circumvent accountability and ownership is to avoid the questions you don’t want to have to answer. I found a good list of questions several years ago and I am going through an exercise now to answer each of these in order. These might not be the right questions for you but it is a good place to start. You can’t create the right answers if you don’t ask the right questions.
Challenge yourself to take the next 100 days and answer one question each day. Be honest in your answers, don’t overthink, just grab a pen and paper or your favorite digital journal and simply write. You might be surprised what you learn about yourself…
