Self-Reflection
“Inner stillness is the key to outer strength.”
— Jared Brock
We’re nearing the end of the 1st quarter in 2025 (time really does fly!!!) and it’s time to check in with ourselves. I’ve spent a lot of time recently providing you all with blogs that focus on serving others and I need to practice what I preach personally to make sure you all are taking care of yourselves and practicing self-care as time allows. I’ll be completely vulnerable and say that I haven’t been the best in this area to start 2025. Life happens, we all have commitments (both personally and professionally), and I’ve let the media consumption (sports, news, social media) dominate my time and inner mindset. We are all human and are prone to lose ourselves sometimes in the throws of life and there’s nothing wrong with that. As I’ve continued to learn more about myself so far this year, I’ve learned that in order to grow within myself, it starts with self-awareness. I don’t always do it right, but when the intention is there, all we can do is keep trying day after day. Remember that each day is truly a reset for you in life and you can do anything you put your mind to!
I wanted to offer a three step process for how I take time to check-in with myself when I’m able to be consistent in life.
Gather a temperature check for yourself – Gaining a better understanding of your internal temperature starts with recognizing what our baseline temperature normally is. I’m not talking too much about the temperature you would use to know if you’re sick or well, but more of an internal temperature check on how much you’re taking on in life, what your balance of self-care is, where you feel the most fulfilled and drained of energy. This is bigger than simply listing out what you enjoy and don’t enjoy in life, it starts with establishing your foundation of goals. The beginning of the year is an optimal time to set your goals and also be kind to yourself when you envision what your version of success looks and feels like. Being kind to yourself also includes making sure you can truly take on what you calibrate your mindset to your annual goals. The last part of your temperature check is to recognize that not every day will be perfect and you won’t feel your ideal “temperature” every day. Remember that these days and feelings are all temporary and as long as you have more positive days each month than negative days (and that the tie goes to the runner always!), you will be well on your way to keeping your internal temperature manageable and sustainable.
1. Practice self-care – I alluded to this subject in the first point and I’ve found out more and more in life that self-care drives everything in life, including your health, mood, resiliency, and how you speak to yourself. When I first started my career after college, my self-care was not great and I likely didn’t even know what the definition of self-care was. Late work nights, un-wise health choices, avoiding working out, and falling prey to peer pressure when it came to going out on the weekends. I didn’t feel well and was going day by day, barely getting by. One of my true blessings in disguise was getting laid off from that job and then forcing myself to slow down in life. My self-care after that included long walks over lunch, eating right, and working out every other day. I also leaned into reconnecting with my friends in life that I had pushed away for so long. I not only looked better but I felt better. Self-care is not something they preach at a detailed level in college, in a new job, or even in life. We are taught to run the rat race, to not question life, and to make sure we achieve all the goals we set out to accomplish. I promise that taking a step back today to focus on your self-care going forward can and will help you feel better and be able to take on any challenges and goals you have in life (not just at work!). Make sure to take a moment today and reflect on what you can do to better your own life so you can better the lives of those around you. You’ve truly got this!
2. Compete against yourself – We’ve been all been coached, mentored, and taught in life to compete against others, take all prisoners, as Ricky Bobby said in Talledega Night’s, “If you ain’t first, you’re last!”. This concept explains why all of us are continuing to embrace challenges to be the best in our craft, but sometimes that can mean that you have to compromise your own values to overtake and get ahead of someone else in life. I’ve seen both sides of this in the professional world and I can tell you that losing your values and taking the path of wanting to be the best at the expense of others, rarely ends well. Early in my career, I felt the pressure to compete against others. As I’ve approached mid-career recently, I’ve embraced the concept of humility and servant leadership. My ultimate goal in life is to help others grow and be successful, even if it means that person will overtake my responsibilities. I’ve learned over the last few years to simply compete against myself each day and strive to be better today than I was the day before. This concept can be challenging to embrace, enact, and follow, and it will never be easy. You’ll find over that time that running your own race will help you to gain self-reflection moments, be satisfied with your own growth, and to be able to sleep well at night knowing that you’ve done everything you can to be the best version of yourself! I’m here to help if you ever have self-doubt or are struggling with implementing this in your own life. You are fully empowered as of today to compete with yourself going forward!
3. If you’ve made it this far in today’s blog post, I’m proud of you for leaning into your own personal/professional growth, self-improvement, and embracing a new life concept. Like we mentioned above, life moves quickly and if you stand around too long and stop moving (in whatever direction makes the most sense for you), you’ll get knocked over. The direction you move is more important than your speed (shout out to the Tortoise and the Hare story) and we are all truly on our own path of success in life. Navigating a new path of staying connected with yourself will help you stay fortified in who you are and naturally achieve your own goals without too much strain or personal energy consumption.
Feel free to reach out and keep me posted on how your self-awareness and self-care journey continues. I would be more than happy and excited to hear from all of you!
Thank you as always for your support of my own blogging journey!
Keep growing and know that I truly value, cherish, and appreciate all of you!
Ryan