Introspection: The exquisitely painful approach to wisdom

Recently, the word of the week at my Academy was introspection, and here I will talk about why that particular word was the choice. 

In my opinion, introspection is one of the most important things for any human being. The ability to look inside, to turn perception inward unlocks a whole new world. It is a tool that helps us get acquainted with ourselves: our drives, our fears, all the flaps and folds in our characters. Introspection is a key that unlocks the understanding of one's self.

It contributes to and forms so many traits in one's character, that I cannot help but ask could we truly do anything in our life without it? It is the base of empathy, learning, development, growth, decision making of all sorts (choosing a partner, a calling, finding a purpose, parenting etc.)  

And yet, what I'm often seeing in the young generation is lack of introspection. They are taught to listen to parents, authorities, to follow rules and focus on the outside world. But there is a huge gap in their ability to shape, and then listen and then trust their own selves. Isn't that what we're supposed to teach them? 

It's perplexing to realize that this is not being taught to our youth, at all, in any way, at least not through the mainstream education. It's not a subject at school, it's not an extracurricular activity, there's no club for it, all despite an undeniable fact that it is such an important life skill. It's important because without it, true fulfillment could not be reached. Without it, it would be impossible to forge our own paths. 

I guess many of us go through life not knowing how to pause and reflect on our thoughts, emotions and memories, and examine what they mean. The truth is that our unique reality is embedded inside of us, we just have to look for it, find it and decode it. And since there is no official establishment that teaches it, not all of us are going to be lucky enough in life to find a person who will prompt us to deeper inner reflections.

Introspection is a process we use throughout our life, despite the fact that it’s often an unpleasant or even painful experience to roam all the hallways of our being. I call it the exquisitely painful approach to wisdom. From what I have witnessed, many of the struggles of adulthood are directly linked to unexamined and unresolved psychological experiences and issues; experiences that make up a big part of who we are.

So pause. Reflect. Examine. Dig. Ask. Look yourself in the eyes. Be honest.

You may be surprised to where it leads you.