Self-Reflection is Important

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Hello friends and welcome back. In this blog l want to talk about how important l think it is to make time for self-reflection and some of my own reflections of 2019. It is hard to believe that a New Year is approaching, and 2019 has been such a rewarding year for me, both in my creative and personal life.  I am so grateful for my family, friends, my creative journey, my fur baby, and most of all LIFE.

I believe that self-reflection has helped me to better understand the way l deal with situations, not to be completely unaware of my faults, and to find ways that l can deal with situations positively instead of letting them swallow me up. I believe that self-reflection helps in creating a positive mindset and discover a greater appreciation of yourself.  It helps me collect my thoughts and better process what l need to do next.  In saying this, 2019 has brought me so many new treasured friendships and it also brought me so many exciting opportunities, such as being part of the MeraQi collective, one of the featured artists at Cornerstone in Kingston, l taught fun classes at Open Studios, opened my own home teaching studio, l was part of the Small Works Show at the Tett Gallery and l am so excited to be now teaching acrylic classes at the Tett Centre Kingston. These friendships and opportunities have had such an immense and positive impact in my life. I am so fortunate to be surrounded by such a supportive community. Friends and family that lift me up, make me smile and keep me hopeful in living my dream.

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Self-reflection helps you recognize change and how to tackle it, helps you see your progress, and how you can make a difference to better increase your self-awareness and self-improvement.  I think it is important to know where you are in the present and where you are heading. Although l know it can take a while to get to where you want to be, setting your goals in baby steps can be so rewarding and enables you to challenge yourself.  I have tried to follow this process the last few years, and so far the baby steps seem to make my life more practical, accomplished and l don’t feel so lost in my journey. I find that reflecting at the end of my day, helps keep the days from folding into one another and adds encouragement for the next day.

I don’t necessarily write in a journal every day, although this would be a great idea, sometimes it consists of just sketching something out that reflects how l am feeling that day or creating art that makes me happy. I do make a habit of daily reflection even if it is just a thought process before l go to sleep. Blogging has been a great way to journal on what l have been up too in the past year, and l have to say it is a treat to head down memory lane when reading my past blogs. I think this has been an important way for me to reflect and allows me to learn from my experiences and process my overall achievements.

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Self-reflection is powerful, l know it has helped me in my own personal growth but it has required me to be honest and objective and l think that sometimes we can be too hard on ourselves, as life definitely has its ups and downs. Although l know it can be difficult taking life day by day and not letting it overwhelm us, it is important to remember that we are all human and at the end of the day remember that you are worth it.

 Being that this will be my last blog of 2019, l would like to thank all of you who have helped me pursue my dreams, for all the support, for returning to read my blogs, and for following my progress. Wishing you all a Safe Holiday Season, a Merry Christmas and  Happy New Year! Stay tuned for my 2020 blogs.
 
Until next year my friends, stay safe, live out your dreams and keep creating!
Alice Melo