Connect with your interior, Analyzing your personality and your thoughts is a very healthy way to know yourself better and to be able to love and respect yourself. And all this can be achieved thanks to introspection exercises, a method that aims to slow down the frenetic pace of our daily lives a little to reconnect with ourselves and analyze who we really are. It is also a perfect method to realize what is really a priority in life and, thus, stop worrying about trifles. In Psychology-Online we are going to discover you how to do an introspection exercise giving you some examples of exercises that you can easily do at home.
But before explaining how to do an introspection exercise, it is important that we stop for a moment to better understand the meaning of this method. Within the world of psychology, introspection refers to a process that allows us to examine our own thoughts and feelings. Colloquially known as “take an inner journey” in order to get to know each other better and know who we really are.
Thanks to introspection we are able to reflect on our inner life and better understand what happens in our minds and emotions. During these exercises we will also reconnect with some episodes from our past that we must heal in order to evolve. It is, therefore, a practice that will help you reconnect with your interior and come face to face with those episodes that you did not know how to manage at the time.
Therefore, in order to follow this method, it is important to know some of the best introspection exercises that will help us delve deeper into ourselves and, thus, be able to enjoy a much fuller and more relaxed life.
Let’s get into the matter and get to know some of the introspection exercises that can help us the most to carry out this journey towards the interior of our person. We are going to show you some of the best ideas that you can easily do in your daily life and, thus, reconnect with your authentic essence.
Practice meditation every day
If you want to know how to do an introspection exercise you have to keep in mind that, among all the activities available, there is one that is the best of all: meditation. This ancient practice is the most appropriate to slow down the pace of everyday life, silence our mind and be present in life. A very healthy way that helps us “cleanse” our mind and reduce the presence of negative thoughts or unfounded fears that can be our brakes.
It is recommended that each day you dedicate some 15 or 20 minutes to meditation so that, little by little, you can control your mind more. It is a perfect and very easy practice to do that you can also do at home. You’ll find some good ones here.
Breathing exercises to relax the mind
With meditation, the first thing we always pursue is to be able to relax thoughts that flood our minds. And, many times, the accumulation of ideas, memories or reminders prevents us from relaxing and becoming aware of what we really are and want from life.
Therefore, this exercise that we indicate below is totally focused so that you can relax your head and experience a moment of tranquility and connection with your interior. It is designed for those people who do not dare to meditate but who want to begin to know themselves better. For it, We suggest that you follow these steps:
- Play relaxing music
- Lie down on the bed, lounge chair, etc., in a comfortable place away from noise or distractions.
- Light a scented candle or incense to create a relaxing atmosphere
- Now, close your eyes and start breathing. Take 10 deep breaths to relax your entire body.
- Maintain your total concentration on your breathing and, when your mind wanders, return your attention to your breathing.
- Stay like this for 5 or 10 minutes doing nothing but feeling your breaths.
- When you finish, open your eyes and sit or lie down for about 5 more minutes, stretching your body well.
The exercise in the mirror
To do an introspection exercise, it is important that you face yourself and analyze who you are today. We are beings who, with the passing of the years and the accumulation of experiences, can change without hardly realizing it. Thanks to introspection we will be able to get to know the person we are today and, if there is something we don’t quite like, we will have the power to change it. But, the first thing is to detect it.
For this, an ideal exercise is what is known as “the mirror exercise.” To do this, you should stand in front of a mirror on a day when you don’t have too many things to do and you feel like be honest with yourself. Make sure that no one interrupts or bothers you during the exercise.
Once you are in front of the mirror, Look yourself in the eyes and ask yourself questions like this:
- How do you define the people in the mirror? How do you see it?
- Do you know that person who is looking at you?
- What virtues does it have?
- What are its defects?
- Do you think they have been hurt in life? Do you think he has overcome the pain?
- Is he a good person? Do you have good intentions and feelings?
- Do you take care of others?
- Do you think that boy or girl from childhood still lives inside you?
- Would you change anything about that person?
Read a personal growth book
One of the best ways to dedicate time to yourself and your thoughts is to read a book that helps us reflect and value our way of living in the world. There are many publications of this type that aim to make let’s become more aware about our way of being present on a daily basis.
There are a wide variety of books, such as books to learn to be more positive in life, books to know what you want, books to overcome your fears, etc. By dedicating some time a week to these readings, what you will achieve is to dedicate time to your interior, really know you and learn new approaches and new ways of being in the world.