The Six Stages of Personal Reflection (Part 2)

 In part two of The Six Stages of Personal Reflection, the course of the exercise has been reversed to focus on the present and to notice whether your current goals are aligned with your prospective future. By practicing the six stages, you begin to recognize how you are the agent of change and transformation that leads you to your desired outcomes. Using self-control, practical thinking, and assertiveness, you begin to believe that who you want to become is achievable now if only you take initiative. The exercise helps break apart the intangible abstractions that cloud your judgment into feasible and functional thought patterns. Not only will you bypass doubts and worries but you will also begin to see that you do not need a finalized set path to start taking action, instead, you can create your path with each individual step you take starting now.

What do you truly desire?

To start off this exercise you will need to take the time to reflect on your end objective and your most genuine goal. You might immediately know what you desire because it is the first thing that comes to mind. However, in all probability, truly knowing what you need more of today can be harder to specify concisely. It could be that what you need immediately is merely an entryway to your cherished aspiration. Therefore, contemplate sensibly more frequently. Repeatedly, inquire about your most fulfilling need and ponder more on the question whose answer could be summed up in just one word.

What does it require of you today and how have you dealt with this need in the past? 

Acknowledging that you have ignored your needs is a normal position to be at this point. Step two aims at delving into your past to search for when you have begun to address your needs. If you suddenly discover that while you have always wanted your truest goal but never worked on realizing it then ask yourself what does it require of me today to reach my target. Chances are that this requisite entails action. Courageously preparing yourself to take action is truly motivating because it renders the process of self-actualizing less daunting.

What skills do you lack and how much time do you expect yourself to gain these skills? 

Skills are about actively exercising your tasks. It is all about the process, operation, and efforts. In this stage, action is necessary and you must consider what skills you need to work on. The time frame in which you could acquire these skills is important as well because it measures your capacity of fulfilling your target goal in time. Setting a schedule is realistic and grounding. It brushes off the fluff and gets the process of reaching your objective operational, reasonable, and effective. 

What is your incentive and can you start committing to it today? 

How can you begin to work on your personal goals if you are not confident in attaining them? It takes particular endeavor, commitment, and massive effort to sustain a goal that works for both present-day and future you. The ultimate defining question is what is your core motivation and what incentives do you have? We have to adopt a sustaining underlying set of values and motivations that drive our actions in the present and continue on. If you can briskly put your finger on it then you are set; what rests is the moment you commit. Remember that we have already identified assertiveness and decisive action as key factors in realizing yourself.

How must you develop as a person now? 

If we are to achieve our best self we must take risks and it starts with the risk to introspect. A certain set of character qualities are essential to commence your self-actualizing journey. You might uncover your risk-aversion or lack of conviction and self-assurance. Developing personal traits requires risks too and risks are about venturing into uncharted territories. Taking assertive action one step at a time is the key in this stage. 

In what ways are your target goals right for you?

Just as in part 1, this reflection exercise must combine both the present and the future just to illustrate that what you want can be achieved starting from today. This last stage is about certitude in realizing the best version of yourself. Do you see yourself becoming more you if you practice these steps? The image of your future self is going to be your own personal creation starting from this present moment. With a positive attitude and the letting go of irrational fears, doubt, and the fixation with figuring it all in one moment, there is nothing stopping you from committing to what you truly desire to be.