Do you ever take the time to check in with yourself and reflect on your performance? During those check-ins do you ever feel that you could do better in your job or sport? Whether you are an athlete or a professional, if you would like to improve your performance the first step is self-awareness and it starts with self-reflection. Self-reflection is about looking inward, getting in touch with your own feelings and the ability to analyze your behavior, and the reasons that may lie behind them. It’s a process of acknowledging where you are, where you have been, and where you are going.
Why is it important?
Self-reflection helps to understand your emotions, strengths, weaknesses, motivations and driving factors that influence your behavior. Ultimately, self-reflection builds emotional self-awareness. The ability to reflect on your performance and figure out what and how you can improve helps to enhance your performance in the future. Reflection is also crucial for identifying the things you have done well (many of us forget this part!) because by acknowledging your strengths you can increase your self-confidence. I have been working with young athletes. Recently, when I talked about self-reflection with one of them and I asked her why it was important, she immediately said that it was important in order “to be able to do better next time”. But when next I asked her whether she reflected on her strengths (the things she did well), she just stared at me. The thought that she also should reflect on what she did well not just on what she didn’t do well has not occurred to her. It is so easy for all of us, and especially for young female athletes, to forget about this part. Reflecting on what you did well is crucial!
As humans, we are creatures of habits. If you are not aware of what you are doing you will continue to repeat the same behavior (regardless whether or not you like the results of it) out of habit! Are you curious about your blind spots (things that you are not aware of) and repetitive habits during training and competitions, work or important events? With self-reflection, you can realize these patterns and you can play/work smarter and not necessarily harder (but of course effort is a vital component whatever you do).
How to do it and when?
Always start small and if you can start with 10 minutes every day it can be a game changer. Whether you are an athlete or a professional take 10 minutes every day to reflect on practice/work/competition or an important event:
- What happened?
- What went well?
- What didn’t?
- What can you do differently next time?
As a high performer you should ask the following questions to understand how you can perform at your best:
- What is your “A game”? What do you do when you “play” your best?
- What is your “C game”? What is your fall back plan for when you are not performing well?
- What are your red buttons and distractions?
On a more personal level, self-reflection also helps you to become more aware of your core values and reflect on what’s important for you. Read my next blog post which is going to cover self-reflection on a deeper level “Everything starts with Self-Reflection! Part #2”. If you have questions or comments please don’t hesitate to send me an email at dora@dorakurimay.com