How Reflection —Self-Observation Without Judgment —Transforms Your Life
Just as cooling down after a workout helps your body transition from intense activity to a resting state, the Inner Fitness Challenge tool #8 — Reflection allows your mind to consolidate what you’ve learned and internalize new habits. This process of self-observation (without judgment) is crucial for embedding skills into your daily life, turning them into a sustainable practice rather than a temporary challenge.
Congratulations! You’ve made it through the challenge!!!
During this reflection phase, review your progress, celebrate your achievements, and identify areas for continued growth. This step is akin to assessing your physical fitness after completing a training program—recognizing the strength you’ve gained and setting new goals to maintain or build on that progress.
How Self-Observation Creates Lasting Change
Reflecting on the 60-day Inner Fitness Challenge, you solidify the connection between your daily actions and your long-term well-being.
This reflection helps transform these practices from isolated exercises into a natural part of your routine, much like how consistent physical workouts eventually become a part of your lifestyle. As you continue to practice and refine these skills, they become ingrained in your daily life, leading to a more balanced, resilient, and fulfilling way of living.
Reflection is the key to making inner fitness a lifelong journey, ensuring that the mental and emotional strength you’ve developed remains with you, just as muscle memory allows you to maintain physical fitness over time. Regularly revisiting and refining these practices creates a sustainable approach to inner fitness that enhances your overall quality of life.
We rewire the brain by telling it what to keep and what to discard through a practice of reflection. But self-observation takes time and effort.
Take a moment and review the exercises for each tool. What have you observed about yourself? Were some difficult to sustain? Have any of them become something you practice in your daily life? Remember, these are tools in your inner fitness gym bag, and they only serve you, if you take them out and use them.
Tool # 1 Mindfulness and Self-Awareness,
Tool #2 Somatic Awareness of Body Sensations,
Tool #3 Inner Compass Calibrated by Core Values,
Tool #4 Awe and Curiosity,
Tool #5 Self-love, Self-Respect & Self-Compassion,
Tool #6 Setting Intentions,
Tool #7 Adjust Perspective and Finetune Expectations.
Maintaining momentum after completing a challenge is crucial to turning your newfound skills into lasting habits.
Here are some tips to keep the momentum going and ensure that the skills you’ve learned during the 60-day Inner Fitness Challenge become a permanent part of your life:
1. Aim for specific objectives that build on what you’ve learned. Just as you wouldn’t stop exercising after reaching a fitness milestone, don’t let your progress with inner fitness plateau. Identify clear baby steps that keep you focused and motivated.
2. Create a routine. Make inner fitness practices as habitual as brushing your teeth. Consistency is key—choose times and practices that fit seamlessly into your life.
3. Join or create a community of like-minded individuals focused on maintaining their inner fitness. This could be an online group, a local meetup, or simply a few friends committed to personal growth. Sharing experiences, challenges, and successes with others provides support, accountability, and inspiration.
4. Keep exploring new techniques and insights related to your inner fitness. Read books, attend workshops, or listen to podcasts that offer fresh perspectives and ideas.
5. Recognize and celebrate your progress, no matter how small. Just as you might take pride in lifting heavier weights or running a faster mile, acknowledge the moments when you notice your mindfulness or somatic awareness paying off. These small victories reinforce your commitment to the practice.
6. Be Patient with Yourself. Like physical fitness, inner fitness is a journey with ups and downs. There will be days when it feels easier and days when it’s more challenging. Be gentle with yourself during setbacks and remind yourself that progress, not perfection, is the goal.
7. Reflect regularly. Make an appointment with yourself to evaluate your progress, revisit your goals, and adjust your routine as needed. This ongoing self-observation aligns your practices with your evolving needs and ensures that your inner fitness journey supports your overall well-being.
8. Incorporate variety. Cross-training in physical fitness prevents burnout and keeps workouts exciting, so vary your inner fitness practices to keep things fresh.
9. Look for opportunities and make the best choices for you. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator adds extra exercise to your day. Similarly, mindful walking, conscious breathing during stressful moments, or practicing empathy in conversations, these small, consistent actions help reinforce your skills.
10. Keep the big picture in mind. Remember that inner fitness is about enhancing your overall quality of life. Keeping this broader perspective in mind can motivate you to maintain your practices, knowing they contribute to your long-term happiness and well-being.
Your “Dream Big, Start Small” here’s the one thing you can do today.
Reflect on how this Inner Fitness Challenge has made you more aware of yourself — your feelings, thoughts, reactions, practices, goals, dreams, interaction with others, etc.
Over the eight weeks of this Inner Fitness Challenge, which exercise did you enjoy the most… Mindfulness and Self-Awareness; Somatic Awareness of Body Sensations; Inner Compass Calibrated by Core Values; Awe and Curiosity; Self-love, Self-Respect & Self-Compassion; Setting Intentions; or Adjust Perspective and Finetune Expectations?
Which one created the greatest impact? Which one have you continued to practice, becoming a part of how you live?
Continue to apply these practices regularly and you’ll maintain the progress you’ve made, but also deepen your inner fitness, making it an enduring part of your life.
Have you enjoyed and benefited from this challenge? All of the information I’ve shared with you has been taken from my Stepping Forward Program. My unique blend of somatic therapy and coaching creates lasting transformation within my clients who have worked the program. If you’d like more information, please contact me and schedule a free 30-minute Reach Your Potential consultation. I look forward to talking with you.
Further Reading
Reflection (Psst…you’ll find 75 prompts/questions that deepen your reflection process!)