Glossary
Self-Reflection
What is self-reflection?
Self-reflection means deliberately examining your thoughts, feelings, actions, and experiences. You might review a difficult conversation to consider what happened and what you would do differently.
Self-reflection and self-awareness
Self-awareness concerns what you recognize about yourself. Self-reflection is the act of examining an experience: what you did, what you felt, and what you might learn. Reflection can aim at greater awareness without guaranteeing that your interpretation is correct.
Reflection and rumination
Trapnell and Campbell distinguish curiosity-driven reflection from rumination: repetitive, negative attention to yourself. Trying to understand an experience differs from going over the same self-criticism again and again.
Why it matters
Reflection may help when it leads to a specific insight or a useful change in action. But an explanation that feels convincing is not necessarily accurate. Compare it with what happened, including evidence that challenges your first interpretation.
More time thinking about yourself is not automatically better.