2.1 Introspection

Retired NBA basketball player, psychologist and author, John Amaechi, has this to say about the importance of introspection on the path to success.

Cherry (2023) makes the following suggestions to help you to become more introspective:

• Ask yourself ‘what’ questions – for example, instead of asking why you feel sad, ask what is making you feel sad. This can help provide more insight.
• Be more mindful – greater mindfulness can be achieved in many different ways, some of which include journaling and meditation. (You can explore mindfulness [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] in more detail by clicking on the link. To avoid losing your place in the course, if you are studying on a desktop you should open the link in a new tab or window by holding down Ctrl (or Cmd on a Mac) when you click on it. If you are studying on a mobile device hold down the link and select to ‘Open in New Tab’. Return here when you have finished.)
• Expand your curiosity – curiosity about your inner self can help you better understand your emotions, reflect on your past, and explore your identity and purpose.
• Spend time alone doing nothing – this can help create an environment in which you're able to do a deeper dive into your psychological processes.

Other prompts to help with the internal exploration of introspection include:

• Seeking out new experiences – for example, travel to somewhere you’ve never been before or learn a new skill. These experiences don’t have to be work related. Putting yourself in new situations, outside of your comfort zone, will allow you to learn more about how you think, feel and act when things are unfamiliar (Nunez, 2023).
• Identify what triggers your negative feelings and emotions – understanding what makes you angry, sad, stressed or jealous will significantly enhance your self-awareness. A useful tip is to pay attention to what bothers you about other people. Sometimes this can be a reflection of a quality we don’t like in ourselves (Nunez, 2023).

However, as Tasha Eurich explains in her book Insight (2017, pp . 98–109), being introspective is not the whole path to self-awareness. When you don’t keep your focus on learning and growth while thinking about decisions you’ve made or situations you’ve found yourself in, you can risk falling into rumination, something Eurich refers to as the ‘evil twin’ of introspection.

Rumination involves getting stuck in a cycle of negative thoughts, focusing on what went wrong in a situation, your fears and insecurities, rather than considering what you might learn from it and do better next time.

Eurich goes on to suggest several ‘rumination-busters’ (pp. 122–126), including:

• Having a learn-well mindset – channelling your thinking to focus on learning over performance
• Hitting pause – doing something to take your mind off your repetitive thoughts, such as exercising or seeing friends
• Reality checking – asking someone you trust for a reality check.

A useful focus for introspection is the process of identifying your personal values.