Self-Awareness provides us with insight based on our experience(s).
Self-Regulation is the action of experimenting with our behaviors in order to grow our psychological flexibility beyond what our awareness suggests to be true about our natural tendencies and predilections of behavior.
Self-Reflection is the process of evaluating your behavior against the example of your intended future self.
WHAT it is
Self-Reflection is the filtering process through which you make meaning out of what has occurred by assessing, evaluating, interpreting, organizing, and understanding your thoughts and feelings about an experience in an integrative way.
HOW to train it
Identify the type of situation you were in (e.g., job interview, dinner conversation, performance review, first date), and what your internal situation was like at that time (i.e., what were you thinking and feeling?)
- Subsequently, identify:
- What you did well and/or anything that was positive about the experience.
- What you wish to improve upon (use affirmative language).
- And, what you will tactically do different next time based on how you foresee improvement opportunities.
How you make meaning out of what has occurred is going to influence your energy, thoughts, and attention in the future. Therefore, by actively engaging in how you process the experiences in your life, especially perceived failures, traumas, and setbacks, you grow your level of resilience.
Awareness+Regulation+Reflection
Cultivating and practicing the foundational mental skills–self-awareness, self-regulation, and self-reflection is an iterative process because they are constantly influencing one another, and your environment is constantly changing.
The more you raise the stakes, the more opportunities you will get to learn about yourself, which will allow for a greater impact of putting this increased knowledge of self into practice.
