If you’re doing these 8 things, you’re likely a highly reflective person

Highly reflective people like to have a lot of time on their own. 

Unlike some of us who just live life on full blast and don’t spend too much time thinking about it, the reflective individual really ponders the meaning and importance of events in his or her life. 

If you relate to the following traits, chances are that you’re one of these especially reflective and introspective individuals. 

1) You look before you leap 

The first thing about being reflective is the before phase. 

When you’re somebody who engages in a lot of reflection, that also includes the reflection you do before making a major decision or change in life

Do you really want to take this new job? Remember what happened last time you went for that new position and it went wrong?

Are you sure you want to break up with your partner?

You reflect back on impulsive decisions you’ve made in the past and how much they hurt you, could this be a similar thing happening once again?

This “pre-reflection” is a definite marker of somebody who is highly reflective. 

2) You’re highly self-aware 

The next indicator that shows you’re highly reflective is that you’re very self-aware

You know about your strengths and weaknesses and you’re knowledgeable about where you need to improve. 

This level of self-awareness can be both a help and a hindrance. 

It shows you where you need to improve and it also shows you where you’re talented and capable. 

This gives you confidence and a path forward, but it can also make you become a bit insecure about where you’re falling short. 

3) You’re aware of your emotional strengths and vulnerabilities 

The specific aspects of being self-aware depends on each person, but if you’re highly self-aware then you’re especially cognizant of where you’re sensitive and where you’re tough. 

You’ve gone through your catalog of life experiences and become extremely self-aware of specific emotional patterns, traumas and talents that you have. 

For example, you know that you respond very maturely and well to rejection, but you have an extreme anxiety reaction to financial insecurity and career trouble. 

You become more and more aware of how and why you react certain ways and reflect on that, becoming more attuned to what you can change and what you can’t. 

4) You practice brutal honesty (with yourself and others) 

Next up in being a very reflective person is that you’re extremely honest with yourself and with others. 

All that time reflecting has given you much more confidence about telling the truth and you’ve had time to be clear on what you believe. 

For that reason you don’t allow yourself to lie to yourself or others, even if it would feel nicer to do so. 

Thus, when you are on the job hunt and it’s another week without results you don’t put your feet up, crack a beer and say “well I did everything I could,” because deep down you know you didn’t. 

And when your girlfriend asks you if she looks fat you tell her “I wouldn’t say fat, but I think it’s a good idea if we try that diet again.” 

Honesty. It’s good for you. 

5) You can spot hidden potential in others 

When you’re highly self-aware it has an added bonus of translating into high perceptiveness about others as well. 

You see what others sometimes miss about their own hidden strengths and potential. 

You can see where they could double down and really succeed and also see bad habits or patterns that are holding them back. 

Finding a way to communicate this to others can be a fine art, but the fact of the matter is that you do notice these things about others. 

And sometimes what you notice about them can be very helpful in their development! 

6) You’ve stared your fears in the face 

When you’re reflective and introspective you don’t just think about pleasant things. 

You’re going to eventually come face to face with your fears

You may not face them the first time, but eventually they’re something you’re going to grapple with. 

Your fear of being abandoned…

You’re fear of small spaces or being suffocated…

Your lifelong fear of not living up the ideals set by your parents. 

You’ve faced these worries and anxieties and grappled with them. Even if they’re not resolved, you’ve brought them out into the light of consciousness. 

7) You notice opportunities in the most unusual places 

As a highly reflective person, you notice opportunities in the oddest places. 

When you lose a job you think about starting a new service for those who were just laid off…

When you get sick unexpectedly and start finding the costs too hard to take you come up with a new idea of a cost-sharing meal service for lower-income folks struggling with their health. 

You find opportunities even where it seems like there are none. 

And this extra-perceptiveness on your part has a lot to do with your reflective nature. 

Thinking a lot about life and situations opens up all sorts of new perspectives to you and you realize how many opportunities are disguised in disasters. 

8) You detect fraud and fraudsters a mile out 

Being very reflective has given you a lot of insights into the best and worst that people are capable of. 

Like everyone, you’ve had friends who took advantage of you and people you didn’t expect to be trustworthy who ended up being solid as a rock. 

As a result, you are able to detect deeper patterns and aspects of fraud and fraudsters much more than the average person. 

You’ve noticed and reflected on the smaller details and often overlooked aspects of scammers, such as their tendency to talk fast and confuse you while convincing you of things, or being over-friendly in a fake way. 

You’re aware of what to watch out for, and as a result you can see when some less than honest people are headed your way online or in real life, and are also able to warn others to stay away from them. 

The end goal of reflection 

What’s the point of being reflective?

It’s a question worth asking, and the answer is that being reflective has many advantages. 

It helps you make better decisions for yourself and others, it improves your ability to track and boost your mental and physical well-being. 

Reflecting can also be enjoyable for its own sake. 

You sit on the porch with a cool glass of lemonade and think about where your life is going for a bit. 

Why not? 

There is a balance, of course, and I’d never urge anyone to become so introspective or reflective that they drop out of their day-to-day life and engaging with others

But up to a certain extent, reflection is a healthy and beneficial process that we all should do more of. 

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