Introspection can fast-track your personal growth

                                                                        By Anoop Abraham

When I was in school, I hardly ever did any introspection.

My thinking and desires were very malleable, in the sense that outside forces could easily shape them. Movies, TV shows, social media, and my two older brothers' opinions had a huge influence on my thinking. Peer pressure and social conditioning influenced the way I behaved and expressed myself.

However, once I moved out of my parental home to go to college in a different city, I purposely began spending time alone and getting in touch with myself on a deeper level.

Discover yourself in solitude 

I developed a habit of doing all kinds of things I had never done before--like journaling, meditating, reading thought-provoking books, and taking long solitary walks. In the process, I discovered things about myself I had never known before and gained a better understanding of myself. I realised that when you are unclear about what you want, outside voices can have a telling impact on you, often detrimentally.

Many of us excel at distracting ourselves, to avoid looking within. The Swiss psychologist and psychiatrist, Carl Jung, remarked, “People will do anything, no matter how absurd, in order to avoid facing their own souls".

Many of us would much rather prefer to amuse ourselves with our daily fix of entertainment through social media, news, movies, TV shows, and intoxicants.

The ugly truth behind our craving for constant stimulation is simple: most of us can’t stand the thought of being alone without doing anything, even for a little while. Spending some time in silence or doing nothing makes many of us feel restless and uncomfortable. We try to avoid silence at all costs.

Learning to be comfortable spending time alone without any external stimulation may seem pointless, but it can reap rich rewards. I have observed that in those moments of quiet introspection, a higher intelligence can communicate with you.

Tune yourself out

Living in today’s world, where we are constantly bombarded with information and opinions, it’s important to tune out from the noise of society so that we can get in touch with our intuition. Introspection doesn’t need to come in the form of meditation or journaling. The key here is to get some time alone for yourself where you won’t be
disturbed.

A friend, who self-admittedly finds it difficult to spend time alone, told me recently that when he drove from Pune to Kochi alone, he was pleasantly surprised to find plenty of time to introspect. It helped him sort out a tough emotional problem he had been facing for some time.

Awareness is the first step towards creating a positive change, and introspection helps develop self-awareness. A deep examination of our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, triggers, childhood, and social conditioning can often give us startling insights into what makes us think and behave in a certain way.

Lift the barriers

Only by first becoming aware of the thoughts, actions, and behavioural patterns that are holding us back can we lift these barriers.  

Spending time in introspection will fast-track your personal growth, provide you with invaluable insights, and help you discard unempowering conditioning. It’s well worth devoting time to it. 

To quote Carl Jung again, “Until you make the unconscious conscious, it will rule your life and you will call it fate.”