Latest updated: 19 January 2023

Vacation is a time for rest, recovery, and socializing, but it also offers an excellent opportunity for self-reflection. Reflecting on oneself and on what feels important in life is necessary to avoid getting caught in a rut and living on autopilot. By collecting your thoughts and putting them into words, you can come to realize what you truly want in the future and what is required to make your vision a reality.

Self-reflection can be perceived as a vague concept, but if you give it some structure, it can be a very valuable exercise that can also lead to concrete changes in life. Vacation is a particularly good time to reflect because it allows for distance from work and everyday life. When you are in the middle of work, it can be difficult to zoom out and see the big picture or to zoom in on what is really important. That is why we strongly recommend taking advantage of the opportunity to reflect a little extra during vacation weeks.

Self-reflection is fundamentally about reflecting on two things; oneself as a person, and the areas of life that are important to one or that take up a large space in one's existence.

"What do you want to achieve - and what's holding you back?

Reflecting on yourself can be divided into several subcategories, depending on what you want to achieve with your self-reflection and what questions feel important to you right now. You can reflect on your basic values - which have a greater impact on your life than you might think - and you can reflect on your personality traits, how they affect you, your professional life, and your relationships with others. Reflecting on yourself is about achieving a higher degree of self-awareness, which can also lead to better self-leadership.

What do you want to achieve in life? Are you on the right path in relation to your real dreams and goals? If you know that the path is not directly straight towards what you desire, you must dare to admit it to yourself. Only then can you take action to get closer to the vision you have for your own life.

Is there something that limits you in life? If so, self-reflection may be the first step to freeing yourself from that limitation. You can do this by training your openness to thoughts, ideas and insights that you may not have fully let into your life. Thoughts that may even feel forbidden. Is your dream truly your own, or does it come from your parents or your surroundings? Are there truths about you and your life that you dare not express or utter, because they feel so taboo? Train yourself to think, write down, or say things that you never thought you would express. Decide that no assumptions apply anymore, if only in short sessions of 15 minutes of uncensored self-reflection.

What are your strengths, when are you at your best, and how can you serve others? A good career is not only about what one wants, but also about what one has to offer. It is also important for motivation to know that what one does can make a difference to other people. Your strengths in combination with your motivations show where you have the most to give. Reflect on these, how you can give them more space and how you can become both your own and others' servant."

Schedule time and write!