What Does Self-Reflection Mean?



[Lead In]



Martin Zerrudo: When you reflect on the meaning of your own life, the struggles you've gone through, how does it make you feel? Strong for having gone through it? Sad for having to still deal with it? What does self-reflection really mean in the grand scheme of things? And more importantly, what do you think God is trying to tell you? Let's have a Heart & Soul conversation. 



[Show open]



Martin: Hello, everyone, hope we're finding you well, and that you and your family continue to be safe and healthy at this time. When talking about the importance of self-reflection. It's an area that a lot of people can use some help with. According to some studies, the self help industry will be worth over $13 billion in 2022. This translates to millions of different methods out there meant to help us with how to reflect or how to get through the hardest times in our life. We recently asked on our Instagram @incmedianews using #heartandsoulconversations, what kind of struggles in life have you gone through, and here's what you had to say.



[Heart & Soul Listeners]



Crippling levels of undiagnosed clinical depression, anxiety and migraines. I thought that was simply how people lived, and assumed that it was normal. I wasn't happy most of the time, all the way up through high school.



Being in a family that moves from one place to another, we're trained that our lives change every two years. And so we must learn to adapt. As the new kid in town all the time I had to adjust. I did my best to excel my classes that I got bullied for being included in the honor roll. Even teachers and faculty staff bullied me, even parents who lived near us spread rumors about me. Growing up being the unreasonably disliked kid was tough.



I would say loneliness, though there are those times when I felt the heaviness of being lonely, or feeling like I don't have anybody there for me when I'm going through a hard time. And just feeling like I don't have any friends.



Martin: According to betterhelp.com three of the most common reasons why people give up on life are mental health issues, the feeling of not fitting in, and loneliness. And if you listen back to those clips that we just played, those listeners were going through exactly those things. So why didn't they give up? Well, we asked them, Why didn't those struggles break your will? 



[Heart & Soul Listeners]



What kept me going through day to day and dark nights were singing hymns and praying to God.



It was traumatic. But it was also the time that I learned how faith works.



When I feel like I'm on the brink of giving up, God provides a light of hope. And to know good things and good people are out there. I just have to keep praying and always have that sense of hope.



Martin: For some of our listeners, when it came to struggles, it surprised them how hard it would hurt, especially when it came from a place that they least expected.



[Heart & Soul Listeners]



Being hit hard with my anxiety due to finding out the people I thoug...