Self-Reflection for Women Entrepreneurs

​Women are known to be well in-tune with our emotions. We know how to handle our emotions well but when external factors get too much to handle, it can take a toll on us. We are passionate in whatever work we do and that consumes plenty of our emotions. 
As entrepreneurs, we’re exposed to several hurdles in our journey towards building our businesses. We get busy with all the emails, business calls, social media managing, etc. which consumes our day-to-day activities. We’re also surrounded by constant competition which can be draining. The results? We get overwhelmed causing us to become unproductive.

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​All of these affect our possibility to see the bigger picture. That's why coming back to self and doing self-reflection is very helpful. Pretty sure we all know or are aware about what the term “self-reflection” is.

“Reflection is one of the most underused yet powerful tools for success.”

​Don’t you just wanna take a pause? Let’s take a step back from the hustle and bustle.

​Benefits of self-reflection

1. Self-awareness. When you stop focusing for a moment about others and mind yourself, you discover and become more self-aware. You come across new things about yourself when you take a step back. Slowly discovering who you are, what you like and love (and don’t like/love), recalling your daily life, and how different past you and present you is. Honestly saying, this isn’t the easiest thing to do. It’s definitely time to take interest in yourself.
2. Promotes calmness in yourself. We become more level-headed when we learn to reconcile your insecurities and our ambitions. As entrepreneurs, the rollercoaster can unexpectedly erratically move in different directions, we take in more risks which stresses us out not realizing how high the stress levels have been raised.  Reflection is the solution and it’ll help you deal with the rollercoaster you’re currently riding. Being able to bring in a sense of calm in any situation is an advantage because you’ll not be easily fazed when unexpected events happen.
3. Put things in perspective. Discover what your priorities are and what you value. Knowing yourself and being able to listen to yourself, you get to decide better for you and your business. Decision-making is crucial when you’re an entrepreneur and when your perspective of things is all around the place, you might just see yourself struggling in the long run. So, take a 5-minute self-reflection practice out of your schedule and learn what do you really want.
4. Give yourself a reboot. With different things going on every day in the life as an entrepreneur, our motivation battery can get drained easily. Spending time in reflection can help reboot your sense of well-being and brings you back to a re-energized you.
5. It can help in business growth. Through reflection, you are able to assess and reassess every stage of your business. It also has to do with how you are able to analyze the successes and failures of your business and learning from them. Self-reflection entrepreneurship lets you observe yourself as the boss of your own business and from there you can move to creating a practical roadmap towards business growth.

How to do self-reflection
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Prepare questions that you’d want to ask yourself. Start with the basic questions and then get more into detail with yourself. Ask important questions.

• What are my strengths/weaknesses?
• What personal/business areas do I want to improve on? 
• What am I skilled in doing?
• What have I achieved either recently or in the past?
• Is there anything that’s making me unhappy or dissatisfied these days?
• What are the hurdles I have noticed recently in my business? In my personal life?
• How can I solve and get through all these hurdles I am experiencing?

​Write down your answers in a journal. It’s a really good practice to have a journal to write down the answers to your questions. You are keeping a record of your thoughts and you can go back to it anytime. We all know how effective it is to write things down onto paper.

Schedule time. We, entrepreneurs, almost all of the time live by our calendars. We’ve got schedules every single day, we’re booked and busy. Work around your calendar and schedule a reflection time. Do your best to commit to doing self-reflection. If there are times that you notice yourself skipping it, no problem it’s not easy starting it out, just make sure you're able to do your reflection next time.

Seek help. Consider working with a coach or a therapist that can help you be accountable for yourself during your self-reflecting journey.

Make time today and start on your self-reflection practice. You need time to recharge and a perfect way is to be with yourself. Take the time to reflect on life, on your business, and everything around you. If you need any help or need to talk to anyone, join the Women Empowering Women Now community and meet/spend time with like-minded women.