Introspection

Introspection. For those who don't know, introspection is the practice of looking inwardly and examining ones one emotional and mental processes. In short, it's being ones own psychologist. Now I don't know how many of you have ever put a name to this practice, but I'm sure that most, if not all all, of you have engaged unknowingly in introspection.

Now there are many benefits to looking inward, one of which is the ability to reflect on past mistakes, learn from them and change future behavior. Blogging for example is way for me to exercise introspection. Through my writing I can address my behavior, identify problems and hope to correct them.

But what I want to spend the majority of this post on are the negative aspects of introspection which are rarely talked about. Psychologists and psychiatrists alike have undergone many years of schooling, training and have countless hours of experience in analyzing the mental processes of others. We, on the other hand, do not. In addition, we are biased in that sometimes we can see ourselves in a different light than others. Some people have a tendency to perceive themselves as being at a standard lower than where there they are perceived by society to be. For example, I have highly self-critical tendencies so what looks fine to others I might write off as being mediocre or even terrible.

My self-critical tendencies make introspection an interesting process. Ever heard the term "self-fullfilling prophecy"? I may have mentioned it in previous posts. A self-fulfilling prophecy, no don't think Harry Potter, is a prediction that directly or indirectly causes itself to be true. Huh? It's when you tell yourself something so much that it actually starts to happen. For example, I believe that I am going to come in last at an upcoming competition. My fears of coming in last cause me to be so nervous that I don't land any jumps, fall out of my spins, and yes, I come in last.

Well sometimes, through introspection, we can create our own negative self-fulfilling prophecies. I may  get nervous to skate at a competition so I look inward and say I'm just an anxious person. Everything causes me to get very nervous. The next time I have a competition I will be thinking, I'm going to be nervous, I'm a nervous person. This ultimately becomes true but only because I have caused it to be so.

We can also use this as a way to make excuses for ourselves. I was having trouble sticking to my diet the other day so I told myself well I just have commitment issues. Now whenever I want to reach for that bag of chips I say Diets are useless, I have commitment issues. 

Starting to see it now? How many times a day do you see yourself doing this? Honestly for myself, too much introspection results in over-analysis, self-fullfilling prophecies and excuses. That's not to say that introspection is bad, or that nothing good can ever come from it but, like everything else in life, it needs to be exercised in moderation. Take everything lightly, don't sweat the small stuff and remember: You're probably better off than you think you are.


Best of Luck!!!