Self-reflection and self-awareness are very important. Yeah, we all know that by now. But, even if that’s clear, what’s not is where to start. It can be hard to just start analyzing or thinking without a clear objective. Well, don’t worry because there is one crucial thing to state:
Everything you do is a way you – consciously or subconsciously – present your inner world to the outer one.
This means, literally anything can be a source for self-reflection. Here are 6 things which reveal more about yourself than you might initially have thought.
1. Your Favorite Way To Escape The Real World
Let’s start off with something pretty straightforward: your favourite media. You’re right, boring, you know that says something about you. Well, but have you actually paid close attention to it?
When talking about media, there are two main elements revealing a lot of very useful information: the genre and the chosen form of media.
The genres you gravitate towards reflect your inner world. For instance, someone who loves sci-fi might be drawn to innovation and exploring unknown possibilities; someone who loves romance might be emotional and passionate.
When looking at your chosen form of media, you’ll acknowledge various very helpful pieces of information about yourself. If you’re someone who prefers movies or series, you probably learn and understand better through visual elements; if you enjoy reading books the most, you can gather information best through words; and if you enjoy listening to music or audiobooks, your talent and understanding lie in acoustics.
Combine that with your genre and use it to find your strengths. Look into our intelligence series for more insight into talents in various areas of life.
2. The Way You Treat Your Food
Do you save the best for last or eat it first? Do you prefer eating with specifically dedicated dishes, or is that irrelevant to you? Small spoons? Eating out or at home? These small habits can reveal a lot.
You save the best for last? You might be someone who prefers to get the uncomfortable tasks away first to be able to fully focus on the good part.
You eat the best first? You might be someone that needs some motivation first before tackling difficult duties. Why wait for something you can have right away?
Analysing this small habit can help you to create strategies for learning and working fitting to the way your brain and body function.
Having specific dishes connected to your meals can show a love for organization and structure, but it can also indicate the need for control. Preferring small spoons can show that you like to take your time, focus on what you do, and fully experience it.
The way we treat our food seems so trivial as it’s a daily thing we do, even though its importance rises from that exact same reason. Food has a very big impact on us daily, so why shouldn’t we treat it depending on our personal preferences.
3. (Un-)Organizing Your Space
A tidy desk vs. organized chaos? The way you manage your environment speaks volumes about your mental clarity, stress levels, and even your approach to problem-solving.
Try it out. Look at the state of your room, then think of your current state of mind. Most often they’ll resonate pretty well with one another. Just as with clothes, our environment represents our inner world.
But, a very important thing to acknowledge here is: just as our environment represents us, it influences our mind just as well. I mean, I just had to move to my living room right now because my lovely bedroom is a mess, pure chaos.
Living in chaos can result in trouble concentrating or sorting thoughts, it can lead to enhanced stress levels and struggles to relax – truly a negative circle.
4. First Things In The Morning
Do you get up the second your alarm goes off, or is the snooze button your best friend? Do you eat right away and chill before starting your day, or do you begin with work before getting some breakfast? All of these things reveal a lot about your priorities.
Now, don’t get this wrong, neither of the options above is generally better in my opinion – it always depends on the reasoning.
Do you struggle standing up because of a lack of motivation? Do you delay your breakfast because of the stress of finishing up your tasks? These situations both signal that you need to have a rest. Where is that lack of motivation coming from? How can I increase the efficiency of my working schedule so I don’t drive into burnout at high speed?
Other than that, you could just be getting up fast because you are looking forward to working, you love your job, you work best in the morning hours, and you prioritize efficient performance. Or you could lay in bed because you prioritize being well-rested and relaxed to work most effectively. If that works with your occupation and helps you to deliver great results, you are doing the right thing – don’t let anyone tell you otherwise!
There is a variety of reasons for a variety of behaviors, don’t be too fast to judge. Of course, your morning routine can be the result of negative habits as well, such as a lack of discipline, responsibility, or time management. We are here to inform you that observing your morning routine can reveal these traits, but you are the one that needs to judge them.
5. Shopping The Essentials
You always have to prepare a list, and don’t you dare forget the 5-step plan with the perfect way directly through the store, no looking around, just in and out in no time. You might have an idea what that could say about you.
Routine-driven, organized, structured, disciplined – adjectives describing you very well. You dislike wasting time, money, or anything else. You like to be prepared and you dislike unexpected turns or surprises. Being able to create plans can be crucial to achieving goals and is a very useful trait, but remember to chill for a second, maybe work on being a bit more spontaneous.
You’re the type to just go into the store without needing something, just because it looked nice from the outside. For some, going into shops is like a hobby – walking down the street just going into every store you see, even if it’s just the fifth supermarket (I’m that way too).
Well, you’re probably more impulsive, you like the unknown and just go with the flow. Plans feel like they’re tying you down, so you stay away from them. Maybe you’re even a bit chaotic – one of the organized chaos people? Probably a free spirit. Keep in mind, others rely on you so a plan now and then, working on your time management and, wow, listening to your wallet dying, you know, this wouldn’t hurt.
6. Step Back And Look At Your Phone Screen
Is your screen cracked or perfectly intact? If it’s intact, have you ever cracked one of your screens? And if it’s not, be honest, how long does it take you to crack a screen?
This may seem trivial, but think about it: nowadays our phones are the things we keep with us at all times. They’ve become one of, if not the most important possession we have. The way you treat it reflects your level of care.
As well, it can show your attention to detail. Maybe it’s just a small crack, does it still bother you? Or did you just acknowledge it right now as you were looking at your phone because of this text?
You could also learn something about whether you prioritize practical vs. aesthetic aspects of your belongings.
Please keep in mind, there are more reasons to have a cracked phone screen than laziness or carelessness, one of them being money. So, don’t start judging someone else’s phone, this is mainly meant for you to analyse yourself. You know the reason for your belongings’ state best.
Why Is This Important? How Is This Helpful?
We scratched the surface here and there, but to make this clear once and for all: getting to know yourself will enhance your self-awareness which ultimately promotes personal growth and self-improvement.This post should show you that each and everything is an opportunity to get to know yourself, everything is a reflection of your emotions and functionality.
Getting to know these hidden aspects of yourself will help you to eventually create environments and routines fitting to your personal liking, enhancing your confidence, resilience, mental well-being, physical health, and working efficiency.
The examples above are valuable aspects of everyday life, making them analysable for every one of us. They’re easy to access while still providing a lot of useful insight which can then be applied to other areas and circumstances in life to move forward.
Learn more about your interests and learning methods through your favourite media; enhance your working ethics through your eating and shopping habits; reconnect with your current state of mind through your room and morning routine; analyse your priorities by looking at your phone screen.