Why it’s Important to Take Time to Reflect

As my freshman year at Elon comes to a close, I find that I am still moving at full speed. I am constantly consumed by courses, work and creating a plan for my life after freshman year. How are there only two short weeks until I move out? Where has the time gone?

After several weeks of an exhausting amount of paper writing, I realized what I needed – reflection. Like so many overbooked college students, I have been operating at an unsustainably fast pace. So I decided to try it out. How had I not thought of this before? I looked up the definition, and Webster’s Dictionary claims that reflection is, “ a thought, idea or opinion formed; or a remark made as a result of meditation.” It sounded so simple, like something I could accomplish at yoga class. Kill two birds with one stone, you know?

And then it hit me like a brick. Reflection isn’t something that I can multitask. It can’t be checked off my to-do list. If I couldn’t schedule it, how was I going to do it? Taking time to sleep is difficult enough. The thought of taking time to reflect – when it's not conveniently coupled with another task – seemed absurd. There is so much pressure to know what you are doing next, but there is no time to stop and live in the present.

Taking time to reflect means slowing down enough to stop, enjoy the adventure and figure out what is really important to YOU. Learn what you like and dislike. Do something for fun… for you. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone and don’t be afraid to relax and enjoy the little things in life. All of this reflection may actually help you plan for the future. I know, weird.

Reflection is imperative to make sense of your experiences and gain more control over your emotions, feelings, responses and behavior. Additionally, self-reflection leads to increased self-awareness and a deeper clarity and understanding of what impacts our own performance and overall progress.

I learned something in my reflections. You can have ideas about what you want, but you cannot plan your life to a tee. Some of the most important decisions and opportunities will come to you in ways in which you cannot predict. So take some time to reflect on your experiences. And I don’t mean during yoga class.