Understanding self-reflection and how it helps
Self-reflection is conscious introspection. In our thoughts and through our talking, we examine our beliefs, feelings, and observations to improve our self-awareness.
One of our introvert preferences is to seek depth over breadth in issues and ideas. This often comes out as thinking before we speak, needing to let thoughts percolate over night or acting on specific practices, like meditation and journaling. It's likely this extra time we need to make some of our decisions that may drive some extroverts crazy.
A 1999 study's findings by Gustafson and Bennett seems to blend the best of introversion and extroversion to deduce what kind of environment might be the best for fostering self-reflection. There is no general acceptance of a definition for self-reflection, not even among researchers. There are however some simple (and some more complex) definitions.
Gustafson and Bennett define self-reflection simply as thinking over a longer period about...
