Making Time For Self-Reflection

 

Does finding something beautiful about your day seem like a challenge for you?

If so, you're not alone. The critical mind is always searching for what’s wrong, even though there’s always something to appreciate. We can easily get consumed by judgment, negativity, limiting beliefs, and self-criticism.

Before we know it, this becomes our automatic thought pattern, and it can almost feel uncontrollable. 

If finding something beautiful about each day seems difficult for you, chances are your being ruled by this critical mind, your inner critic, also referred to as your ego.

Whenever your inner critic is blocking you from feeling a sense of happiness, joy and confidence, try this simple exercise instead. The R Method technique will help program your mind to be more optimistic, more present, and live in a constant state of gratitude daily, and it only takes 5 minutes to complete.

The 5R Method (found on pg.19 of your Beauty Journal) is a daily exercise that will help you silence that inner critic that loves to dramatize life's hardships and lure you into a negative cycle of cynical thinking.

The 5R method can be used to enhance your perspective by noticing the good, even on the difficult days. It's not about suppressing your negative thoughts,
it's about reprogramming your mind to transform these negative thoughts into solutions to learn and grow.

We all have the ability to change our perspective and point-of-view around every situation. But sometimes our mental & emotional reactions are so habitual that we don't know how to look at something from a new perspective.

As the world-renowned life coach & author Wayne Dyer once said,

"If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change."

The 5R method will help you look at your situation in a better light. It will help you recognize healthy ways of dealing with life's challenges.

You can start now by committing to the 5R's of self-reflection.

Through the 5RMethod you will notice that even difficult days have blessings in disguise. You’ll realize that even the moments of hardship turned out to be powerful tools for growth and change. You'll learn to become more self-aware, and deeply explore important aspects about yourself you may have been ignoring.  Allowing you to live an extraordinary life guided by love. 

When you make the CHOICE to shift your perspective, you’ll become mentally strong enough to handle any challenge life throws your way, because a positive perspective creates a prosperous life.

If you keep doing this consistently you will actually rewire your mind to look for the good in every situation. What’s magical about this process is that as you practice this consistently, you will start to feel lighter...peaceful... and more content on a daily basis - creating a happier and healthier you. As we practice self-reflection daily we become more open, honest, and vulnerable with ourselves, and when we do this, we instantly develop more self-love and compassion.

This is why self-reflection really is the key to self-love. It encourages us to be brave, vulnerable, and open our hearts. 

On some days writing in your Beauty Journal will be easy, on other days, it will feel really hard and might be the last thing you want to do. But if writing in your beauty journal is only something you do on 'good days' you are missing out on the powerful part of learning, appreciating, and developing from the difficult days.

If you are having any resistance come up when writing in your Beauty Journal, refer to the 5R's of self-reflection. It will help you find beauty in your life, even on the 'bad' days. I've listed a few of them here below.

 

REALIZATIONS
Lessons learned & self-discoveries.

 There is beauty in learning lessons & in discovering new revelations about life and about ourselves. I like to call this 'soul discovery'. Soul discoveries are the catalyst for growth & improvement. Begin to love your mistakes, and look for the beauty in learning from them. Instead of perceiving them as 'failures' perceive them as soul discoveries.

REMINDERS
I reminded myself that I...

Reminding yourself of an encouraging thought, mantra or simply writing down what you're grateful for is a great way to remind yourself how blessed you are  There are two types of reminders you can write about - gratitude reminders and affirmation reminders. 

Gratitude is what can hold us together when our day seems to be falling apart. When you can't find the beauty in a difficult day, you can always write down five things you're grateful for.

 

 Affirmations are another great way to remind yourself why you're beautiful, and remind you that beauty can be found in a way of being. You can simply write down 5 loving affirmations to yourself in this section.

Even if you don’t currently believe the affirmations you are telling yourself, write them down anyway. Affirmations set us free from our negative judgments, and what we tell ourselves daily becomes true for us. When you give yourself kind and loving affirmations, you will eventually start believing them and they will become real for you. This is a powerful way to build new beliefs about yourself. 

Here's a list of loving affirmations you can give yourself daily:

"I am beautiful beyond measure."
"I am healthy, blessed, & happy."
"I love myself just the way I am."
"I am loving & positive & free of negativity."
"I can see the true beauty that I am."
"I think positive thoughts about myself & others."
"I validate myself on a daily basis."
"I have a beautiful mind, body, and spirit."
"I love the person that I am."
"I am a beautiful soul, attracting so much beauty into my life."

 

 

RELEASE
Letting go.

We choose what we give meaning to. When we choose to let go of hurt, anger & disappointment, we make room for peace to set in. When you let go and forgive, that's a beautiful thing. Write down what you choose to let go of at this moment, anything that isn't serving you in the highest. Read it to yourself out loud and take a deep breath in and a long breath out. Do this a few times until you feel the anger, pain or resentment you were feeling start to dissipate. 

 

 

RECEIVE
Ask for guidance.

A great way to attract abundance into your life is to ask for help and guidance. You can do this through prayer or simply by asking the universe for assistance, this will open the door to receiving, as the universe always seeks to love and support you in the highest.




Realign yourself on difficult days through the R Methods. 

There's a total of seven R Methods you can use in the Beauty Journal to reprogram your mind to focus on the good each day. Think of them as an emotional release technique. You take a negative emotional experience and turn it into something positive & empowering.

Because the ability to overcome resistance, limiting beliefs, and negative thought patterns really is the key to staying strong and staying positive while developing self-confidence and self-love. 

Start embracing that you are a powerful human being (because you are), you have the power to control your attitude and your perspective every single day. When you take a moment to get still and reflect on life's challenges, you can find not only the reason for life's challenges, but also the solution, much more easily.

So start writing in your Beauty Journal daily, even on the 'bad' days. When you consistently take some time each day to self-reflect and connect with your heart space, you will begin to face & solve life's problems, and you'll start to look at life in a whole new way. 

Just know that you CAN reprogram your mind and put positivity at your core, even if negativity is your current default. 

And remember this...

If you’re working on changing bad habits, 
unhealthy thought patterns, negative emotions, 
or toxic behaviours, 
know that you are healing a small part of the
world by healing yourself. 

Everyone around you will benefitand
 they will be served by your wholeness. 
It’s hard sometimes, and I know you want to quit, 
but this is the work that ultimately
changes the world.

Emily Maroutian


With Love & Gratitude,

Brittany