Category Archives: Reflection

It’s easy to recognize the ups and downs of life

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It’s easy to recognize the ups and downs of life. Learning to love the plateaus in our world takes a bit more practice and patience.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Neo Ngoc Khan Huyen

It’s easy to notice life’s highs and lows: the wins we celebrate, the losses we mourn. These peaks and valleys grab our attention, stir our emotions, and often become the stories we tell.

But what about the plateaus — those stretches of calm, routine, and steady progress?

We often overlook these quieter moments, mistaking them for stagnation or boredom. Yet plateaus can be powerful.

They offer us time for rest, reflection, and integration. They give us gaps in our lives to consolidate our gains and prepare for what’s next.

Learning to love the plateaus takes mindfulness, patience, and trust. It means embracing the idea that growth isn’t always dramatic — sometimes it’s subtle, internal, and slow.

EXERCISE:

Today, notice your own plateau moments and ask yourself: What quiet lessons are waiting for me to receive and appreciate?

Friday Review: Reflection

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Friday Review: Reflection

How often do you step outside your routine just to reflect on your life? Here are a few related posts you may have missed.

Stop, jot, and share. Use the superpower of reflection to cement the value of the information you take in.

 

 

 

“It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way.”

 

 

 

“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Winter is a time for contemplation

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“Winter is a time for contemplation and quiet for balancing the inner and outer worlds.”

—John O’Donohue, late Irish poet, author, philosopher

Image from Unsplash by Hide Obara

Winter is a profound time for reflective thought, stillness, and introspection.

Following the hectic rush before and during the holidays, there now seems to be a distinct lull in activity similar to nature’s entry into hibernation. The darker days and colder temperatures are causing many of us to seek cozy, quiet, and warm spaces to rest and reflect.

For me, winter is a time to release old patterns of operating to emerge in spring with a new balance and bounce in my steps as the warmer and sunnier months emerge.

EXERCISE:

In what ways do and can you use the winter months to contemplate your inner and outer worlds? How can these efforts help balance and restore you for the upcoming seasons of your life?

Without reflection, we go blindly on our way

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“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.”

—Margaret Wheatley, American writer, speaker, and management consultant

Image from Unsplash by Medienstürmer

When it comes to learning and personal growth, many of us often miss the important step of self-reflection.

Although many of us consider ourselves good listeners and open minded, we all tend to react instead of responding to the input we receive over the course of the day.

We’re just too busy springing into action based on our previous conditioning to consider the value of pausing to re-evaluate our default approaches to getting things done.

EXERCISE:

Where in your personal or professional communities would greater reflection open your eyes and guide your efforts to achieving even more useful results in your life?

Summon your best intentions like arrows from your heart

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Summon your best intentions like arrows from your heart and let them fly into your days.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Amazon

Living with intention is described as a way of living consciously and deliberately according to one’s passions, purpose, goals, and values.

It can include simplifying your environment, engaging in mental and physical practices, and choosing where to invest your time and energy.

Today’s reflection points to our hearts as the source of their power. It is still up to us to aim them, pull back our life bows, and let them fly.

EXERCISE:

It has been over 20 years since Dr. Wayne Dyer’s book The Power of Intention was published. Consider reading or re-reading this classic and learn some of the enduring lessons of co-creating your world your way.

 

Where do you find yourself on the mountains of life? When is it time to rest and reflect on your view versus climbing onward?

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Where do you find yourself on the mountains of life? When is it time to rest and reflect on your view versus climbing onward?

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Chris Holgersson

With over a month of 2024 under your belt, how far have you climbed so far?

Are your feet still on the gas pedal with your head down moving forward, or have you slowed your pace to reassess things?

When we exert ourselves, it is expected that our heart rates will increase. Along with our pulse, our rate of breathing also rises to access the energy for the effort.

Considering that both our beating heart and breathing are continuous, lifelong functions, it is interesting to note that there is always a pause — however brief — between them, to have our bodies work optimally.

EXERCISE:

How often do you stop or slow down to rest and reassess your place in the world?

How and where would doing so help you grow and enjoy many more views along the way?

It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way.

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“It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way.”

—Claude Monet, 19th Century French painter

Image from Wikipedia

I’m a big fan of the Big Bang TV series and don’t mind spending a bit of free time watching a few reruns.

In one particular episode the whole gang decided to go to an escape room as an evening diversion.

With only an initial clue or two, the group, with their mighty minds and keen powers of observation, found the key to escape in only six minutes.

EXERCISE:

How strong are your powers of observation?

How much time do you patiently and calmly reflect on life’s sticky situations to find a way forward you might not have ever considered?

How good are you at finding silver linings and blessings in disguise

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How good are you at finding silver linings and blessings in disguise?

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by meriç tuna

Most people are familiar with the phrase “Seek and Ye Shall Find.”

Since childhood, playing games like hide and seek, peek-a-boo, and scavenger hunts have been ways to find people and things we consider interesting.

As the years roll by, what we tend to look for narrows. We seek pleasure, amusement, and fun, and we definitely do our best to avoid the distasteful and difficult. Over the years, how have you looked at the ups and downs of life for insights and lessons learned?

EXERCISE:

Where have you been blind to finding the silver linings and blessings that were disguised in some of the challenges you’ve faced?

How might greater reflection about your past and a deeper look at present and future events guide you toward a more fulfilling life?

It can be helpful examining the game tapes of your days

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It can be helpful examining the game tapes of your days to explore what worked and what didn’t.

Image from Unsplash by Jeremy Bezanger

Consider the following scenario:

It’s mid-November and the big Thanksgiving celebration is coming up for the family. A wave of anxiety and hesitation comes over you knowing that similar gatherings in the past did not go well. You replay these events with your selective memory and clearly know that others were wrong in the way they acted.

What if you actually had a recording of some of these gatherings and had a coach to point out your own missteps and shortcomings?

How could this help you set things right and do much better in the future?

EXERCISE:

What are some of your most helpful reflective practices to examine the game tapes of your days?

Who are the coaches in your life that can offer a far more objective perspective to improve your performance in the games ahead?

 Stop, jot, and share. Use the superpower of reflection

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Stop, jot, and share. Use the superpower of reflection to cement the value of the information you take in.

—Calm App Reflection

Image from Unsplash by Gardie Design & Social Media Marketing

What types of information are you taking in these days? What are your strategies to not have the most valuable information go in one ear and out the other?

Consider the concept of eating and digestion. How do you select the most healthy and appetizing items to consume?

How do you chew on these ideas and mix this mash with the saliva and digestive juices of your past experiences and existing wisdom?

How do you discern and absorb the best nutrients and discard any waste products not meant for you?

EXERCISE:

How would jotting in a notebook or journal aid in your reflective skills to squeeze out even more nuggets of wisdom from your information diet?