“Self-reflection entails asking yourself questions about your values, assessing your strengths and failures, thinking about your perceptions and interactions with others, and imagining where you want to take your life in the future.” – Robert L. Rosen
Do you have hurts impacting your life and preventing you from moving forward? As you have read in past blogs, I have overcome many obstacles and am growing into the person I want to be. However, I am not there yet. I continue to struggle with issues that will prevent me from becoming the woman I believe I can be if I don't address them.
In the last six years, I have grown as a person. I journal, and as I read past entries, I realize I have blossomed during that time. I moved from being shy, scared, and unconfident to a successful woman. I am no longer shy, and I find it easier to interact with others. I still struggle with fear and must pray and talk myself into getting involved in some activities. Surprisingly, others don’t realize how difficult it is for me to participate in some social events. At times I allow that fear to rock my confidence.
I have struggled to deal with one area of my life: my mom. Fortunately, my mom loved me, but we did not get along much of the time. I will not go into the details of that relationship out of respect for her. Mom passed away in September 2011.
I had been through a lot and got involved in Celebrate Recovery. Through God, my addiction issue was resolved, and my relationship with my mom was restored. I was blessed during the last four years of her life; we enjoyed each other, and I wanted to spend time with her. During the last two years of her life, I was her primary caretaker, and it was a privilege.
I still struggle with many of the things that happened in my childhood. The negative things mom said to me still resound in my brain. I have been unable to get those hurtful words out of my head.
Over the weekend, I was invited to a retreat to address the hurts that keep people from moving forward. It was a fantastic weekend. I was excited and thought I knew exactly what I was going to work on; I planned to work on my mom issues. But God had other ideas!!!
After the Friday night session, the homework was to review the things discussed and pray to see what God wanted me to address over the weekend. As I prayed, I felt God telling me that mom was not the issue; I needed to work on myself and my trust issues! I believe he is directing me to tear down the walls that I have put up around me. I make it hard for him to get in, and the things I am holding on to cannot get out because they hit the wall and drop back into my mind!
WOW – I was floored!
Over the weekend, the participants in the workshop explored several areas. We found out about our personalities and what characteristics are observed in those personalities. We filled out a graph of important events in different age periods. Those things have affected me to this day. We looked at what needs were and were not met. There were many more exercises. Some of the items that I learned about myself; I already knew, but many of them I was shocked!!
At the retreat, I learned a lot about myself. I am excited to see how I will grow both as a Christian and a person. I am excited about putting some of my hurts behind me and moving forward. I think I will be a better person.
Below are some self-improvement tips that can help you move forward. It is not as detailed as the things I learned at the retreat, but it is a starting point.
8 self-improvement tips to get your life back on track
· Set goals for yourself.
· Surround yourself with people who want to see you do well. (You also need to trust those people.)
· Evaluate what isn't working and eliminate those habits. (Easy to say but hard to execute.)
· Learn a new activity or skill.
· Eat healthily and hydrate daily.
· Have compassion for yourself and others.
· Clean your space regularly
Have a great week!!.
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