Subtle Introspection

Here are ten subtle things it’s easy to miss about yourself that you may find it valuable to pay mindful attention to:

1. Your natural posture when sitting at your computer → this may affect how your body feels in 20 years
2. Where emotions manifest in your body (e.g., I feel anxiety in my chest and annoyance as a twinge in my face) → greater awareness here may help you more quickly and accurately identify your emotions.
3. The clothing you feel your best and worst in → this may lead you to dress in a way that makes you feel your best, and may make you more aware of how you want to be seen by others.
4. Key areas in which you’re subtly lying to yourself or issues you are rationalizing away → you may be avoiding certain truths about yourself (e.g., a problem or weakness you need to work on), your behaviors (e.g., that you’re behaving unethically in some situation), or other people (e.g., that a relationship in your life is destructive) that could be valuable to face head-on.
5. The deep roots of your anxiety (e.g., fear of failure, social rejection, physical danger, financial instability) → this may point to an area where focused problem solving or therapy (e.g., Exposure Therapy or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) could be helpful.
6. The people in your life that bring out the best or worst in you → this may be an indicator of who you should aim to spend more, or less, time with.
7. What you blame others or the world for that you helped created → you might inadvertently be blaming others for some things you should take (at least partial) responsibility for yourself (on the other hand though, some people blame themselves for things that really were the fault of others)
8. What sort of work tasks cause you to go into a flow state (i.e., those that challenge and engage you to hold your focussed attention) → you may want to seek out more of these activities
9. Why you waste time doing things that are neither useful, fun, nor meaningful → you may be addicted to something (e.g., a video game) or trying to fill a psychological need for which you could find a healthier alternative
10. What daily behaviors enhance, or detract from, your wellbeing (e.g., the way you eat, how much exercise you do, how much you drink, what time you go to bed, etc.) → there may simple changes that will make your life better