# Meeting with yourself In this article, I discuss the value of taking time to "meet" yourself regularly. ![[Meeting with yourself (Article) - cover image.png]] Caption: Meeting with yourself on a regular basis is key for personal development ## Introduction I've already written about the value of [journaling](https://www.dsebastien.net/2021-10-07-periodic-journaling-part-1//)[before](https://www.dsebastien.net/2021-10-07-periodic-journaling-part-2//). Today, I want to focus on a ritual of my life that I find incredibly useful, helpful and beneficial for my personal development: meeting with myself. ## Meeting with yourself In today's world, people rarely take time off their busy schedules to reflect and think about their past, present, and future. For them, life "just happens", and they go with the flow, the most natural path forward. It's not wrong at all, but there are missed opportunities for many of them. Meeting with yourself means *planning* and *organizing* regular one-to-one meetings with yourself. Taking the time you need to reflect, think about what happened recently, how it impacts you, how you feel, what you want to do next, etc. The idea is to focus on *you*, to better understand what's on your mind and work toward the future *you* want for yourself. It's all about mental health, wellbeing, happiness, life goals and self-alignment. Meeting with yourself is a "ritual" that you should definitely consider. LINK - [[Systems for health, intention, productivity, learning, knowledge, information management and control (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/knowledge-content-planning-and-action// ## What should be on the agenda of a meeting with yourself Meeting with yourself is useful for many aspects of life. First, it's a great way to express your thoughts and feelings, improve your mental health, wellbeing and your happiness. It's also a wonderful opportunity to work on your personal development. You can use that space you create for *you* to think about your opportunities and your goals. You can focus on different time horizons: short-term to long-term. My personal meeting occurs once a week, generally on Mondays, as part of my weekly review: LINK - [[Periodic Reviews for a Happier and More Productive Life (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/2022-05-16-periodic-reviews/ During that "meeting" (however you decide to organize/stage it), try to explore the following points: - What happened recently? - How did it impact me? - What progress did I make? - How did it impact my goals? - How happy am I? - What should I do next? - Are my goals and actions still aligned? - What do I want for myself this year? In three years? In ten years? - What do I need to do to get there? - What can I do to bring more happiness into my life and for the people I love? - ...  ## Conclusion Self-reflection is key for personal development and also provides great benefits for focus and progress. Besides the productivity impact, it can also deeply influence mental health, wellbeing and happiness. In conclusion, *do* consider adding regular meetings with yourself on your agenda. It's not about having time to do it, but about *taking* that time. LINK: - [[Are My Thoughts Useful (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/are-my-thoughts-useful// LINK: - [[Why Take and Make Notes (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/2022-11-16-why-take-notes// LINK: - [[How to Feel Better Every Day with an Evening Routine (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/2021-10-25-evening-routine// LINK: - [[Maximizing Daily Success The Power of Focusing on One Goal Each Day (Article)]] - https://www.dsebastien.net/one-goal-per-day//