The Art of Self-Reflection

One phenomenon of human life that always fascinates me is the ability to recognise how far we've come, even when we're oblivious to it at the time.

Flipping through old photographs, for example. We might have thought that was a really cool hair cut or a very snazzy outfit at the time, but looking back... maybe not the best choice. And yet, even in those awkward phases, we can see hints of who we were becoming - the version of ourselves who, looking back now, can laugh at how far we've come.
Many times, people talk about their 'before' pictures at the start of a weight loss journey, which, in hindsight, might actually be their 'after' now. (Yes, I’ve been guilty of that one too.)

I'm always seeing it in my writing style. I was looking for an email at work the other day, scrolling back to 2021 in my inbox (because, of course, the Outlook search function was not to be trusted with the job). I stumbled across an email chain where I had given a detailed explanation about something, and I found I was mentally re-writing parts of it in my head, in line with how I would phrase it now. While the length of the email probably wouldn't change much - I still won't use a sentence when a paragraph will do - the way I'd express it has definitely evolved.

It's the same when I'm reading through old blog posts, from times when I must have thought my writing style was so mature. To be fair, some of them, not awful. But if you go back far enough... oh lordy.
But, then again, how long is it going to be before I read this and start giving myself notes?
And, of course, the real kicker is old messages. Though, actually, perhaps we'd best not go there!

Aside from anything actually written or documented, memories are easily criticised. A trait I'm forced to live with is cringing at the majority of things that Past-Me did once upon a time. It can even be as recent as last week, or - let’s face it - just a few hours ago.
I suppose that each time I cringe, I could take it as a reminder that I’ve learned something, whether it’s about how I interact with others, how I handle conflict, or even how I make decisions. I'm not quite at that stage yet, though - I still squirm when I think of that time when I was 11 and fluffed a line in a drama club play. But, still, it's a nice thought.

I suppose, this is all part of human nature. We’re driven to grow, to evolve, and to constantly improve. And a big part of that process is reflecting on how we were, noticing the gaps, and pinpointing the ways we can do better. It's this cycle of self-reflection that encourages us to embrace progress, even when it means facing the less-than-ideal versions of ourselves along the way.

In the end, the cringey moments, the awkward decisions, and the outdated ways of thinking - well, they’re all part of the journey. Without them, we wouldn't be able to appreciate just how far we've come, or recognise how much we've grown.

And, ultimately, we simply wouldn't be the people we are now. Strange, that.

Now Playing: Peer Pressure - James Bay ft. Julia Michaels