Why You Can't Afford NOT to Self Reflect

When was the last time you took time to work on yourself? Is this a priority for you? Or are you, like many leaders, finding that it always seems to slip to the bottom of your list, or perhaps fall completely off your radar? To reach your potential, and to allow your business to reach its potential, you must invest in your personal development. All of the relationships in your life, including those that power your business, grow stronger as you grow stronger. So in fact, you can't afford NOT to focus on yourself.

Isn't self reflection sort of self-centered?

A common misconception is that self reflection is self-centeredness. Many of us worry about prioritizing our own development, or perhaps we treat our development differently in a work environment than we do outside of work. In my case, I often celebrated others' transformations. I saw how their investment in themselves resulted in a discernible radiance. I watched their relationships grow, and noticed how they inspired others to begin their own journeys of discovery.

And still, I thought, I'm not at the right time in my life to indulge in this right now. That's what I thought of it as: an indulgence.

Luckily, (or was it really luck?) I got the opportunity to talk to Alexandra Cole and had the chance to pick her brain on this topic. Alexandra is a self-described "personal development junkie" who had recently published The Purpose Playbook. It was this conversation that shifted my perspective, and helped me realize that my thinking had been precisely backwards. In order to be at your best for others, you need to put continued effort into learning more about yourself.

You can't afford NOT to engage in this work.

A shift begins to occur

As you begin to spend more time getting in tune with your needs, and exploring how you might best make an impact on the world with your unique superpowers, you'll began to notice a marked difference between those who make a habit of working on themselves, and those who don't.

Here are a few things you'll notice about those who do:

• They are happy, and that energy is contagious.
• They honor and recognize differences in people's needs and strengths, which results in better collaboration and better work product.
• They call out their own areas of weakness/vulnerability so that others can support them, which creates a culture of safety for surfacing issues and working through them together.

There are many excellent resources out there about the importance of self reflection. There are many different ways to engage. But all of this is useless without first giving yourself permission to spend productive time focused on yourself.

At Glowe, we ask leaders to place self reflection at the center of any work they want to do, especially if their objectives are focused on their business. We've created a downloadable to kick off the process - feel free to try it out if you're ready to make a change!