33 Self Reflection Quotes That Will Inspire You to Change
Self reflection quotes can help inspire you to do more self-reflecting in your life. I compiled a list of self reflection quotes around the web that I found to be encouraging.
Before I list them, you might wonder what benefit you gain from doing a little evaluation of yourself. One form of self-reflection is meditation.
You’re actively being aware and reflective of your own present thoughts and emotions. In a study of middle school students, it was found that after self-reflection through meditation, the students were self-controlled, self-aware, and performed better academically.
Self reflection is also a critical part of success in addiction treatment. A study found that people who reflected on their past diaries participated more in their treatments.
In other words, they committed more action towards making progress in their life. If this works for people who struggle with the tough challenge of overcoming an addiction, imagine what it can do for you in just trying to improve yourself.
I hope these quotes will inspire you to reflect more. In between the quotes, I’ve also added some studies on self-reflection you might find interesting.
33 Quotes about self reflection and growth
Self reflection quotes for leaders
1. “Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.” – Margaret J. Wheatley
2. “Great leaders develop through a never-ending process of self-study, self-reflection, education, training, and experience.” – Tony Buon
3. “Honest self-understanding liberates us from our stuck emotions.” – C Terry Warner
4. “Our self-image, strongly held, essentially determines what we become.” – Maxwell Martz
5. “Women need real moments of solitude and self-reflection to balance out how much of ourselves we give away.” – Barbara De Angelis
6. “Reflection… Looking back so the view looking forward is clearer.” – Unknown
7. “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
8. “Self-reflection is so healthy. Journaling works for me – when I record the details of what I’m going through, whether it’s a relationship issue or negative thoughts, I can look back and see how far I’ve come. It makes me proud to see my progress and how I got through a bad situation”. – Kelly Rowland
9. “Self-reflection is a humbling process. It’s essential to find out why you think, say, and do certain things…. then better yourself.” – Sonya Teclai
A University of Zurich study concluded that reflecting on past personal challenges you’ve overcome helps you process negative experiences. Participants in the study perceived their current negative experience as less distressing after focusing on their own self-efficacy.
University of Zurich
10. “Self-reflection is necessary to dig beneath our own layers and visit the inner crevices of our heart and mind to develop an understanding of life.” – Unknown
11. “Don’t become too preoccupied with what is happening around you. Pay more attention to what is going on within you.” – Mary-Frances Winters
12. “Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darkness of other people.” – Carl Jung
13. “Your soul needs time for solitude and self-reflection. In order to love lead, heal and create you must nourish yourself first.” – Linda Joy
14. “Dwell not on the faults and shortcomings of others; instead, seek clarity about your own.” – Buddha
15. Honest self reflection opens your mind to reprogramming, change, success and freedom. – Vikas Runwal
16. “We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience.” – John Dewey
17. “Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success.” – Richard Carlson
18. “Compare less. Reflect more.” – Unknown
19. “Unless you learn to face your own shadows, you will continue to see them in others, because the world outside you is only a reflection of the world inside you.” – Unknown
20. “The more reflective you are, the more effective you are.” – Hall and Simeral
University of Florida researchers found that those who start the day by thinking of the kind of leader they want to be were more effective at work. Reflect on things such as your proudest leadership moments and the qualities you have that make you a good leader.
University of Florida
Self reflection quotes for students
21. “Self awareness doesn’t stop you from making mistakes, it allows you to learn from them.” – Unknown
22. “Excellence is the gradual result of always striving to do better.” – Pat Riley
23. “It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.” – Aristotle
24. “No matter how good teaching may be, each student must take the responsibility for his own education.” – John Carolus
Self reflection quotes for teachers
25. “Never forget to remain a student while you teach others.” – Jerry Cortsen
26. “What a teacher is, is more important than what he teaches.” – Karl Menninger
A Rice University study found that reflecting on your recently used personal belonging helped you have less desire to buy impulsively. They also felt less desire to pay for new products. Reflect more to help you save more.
Rice University
Spiritual awareness quotes
27. “Growing into the worlds above us, realizing the higher realms of consciousness within us, requires that we outgrow the worlds beneath us.” – Guy Finley
28. “Spiritual growth requires the development of inner knowing and inner authority. It requires the heart, not the intellect.” – Gary Zukav
29. “Being on a spiritual path does not prevent you from facing times of darkness. But it teaches you how to use the darkness as a tool to grow.” – Sadhak Anshit
30. Time spent in self-reflection is never wasted – it is an intimate date with yourself. – Paul TP Wong
31. “Quiet reflection is often the mother of deep understanding. Maintain that peaceful nursery, enabling stillness to speak.” – Tom Althouse
32. My Sundays are mostly spent in self-reflection – Prashant Niranjani
Funny reflection quote
33. I never make the same mistake twice. I make it like five or six times, you know, just to be sure. – Unknown
Research has previously shown that reflecting on what you’re grateful for makes you happier. But a new study by the Association for Psychological Science that reflecting on what we’re given encourages us to help people more.
Association For Psychological Science
What is another word for self reflection?
Often the word awareness is used as a synonym for self reflection because that’s essentially what you’re doing. You’re taking time to be aware of yourself.
Your thoughts, your emotions, your choices, your actions, etc. Merriam-Webster offers other words similar to self reflection such as introspection, meditation, and self-contemplation.
What is the significance of self reflection?
As mentioned earlier, it’s proven to help you be better able to control your emotions and do better in different aspects of life in general. Particularly with academic achievement, there are a number of studies that have shown self reflection to be useful in helping students achieve more in the classroom.
Another study showed that when we reflect on our plans for the day we’re happier and more productive. Self reflection can help us learn and achieve what we want in life.
How do I become more self reflective?
You can become more self reflective by journaling, meditating, and just taking time to think more about your life and how you live. I hope these quotes about self reflection and growth have inspired you to take more time for yourself.
Ted Talk on Reflection
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