Why reflection matters

Reflection is one of those terms that can sound a bit pompous, but actually has a lot of value in it in for many people for different reasons. Most of the major religious and spiritual traditions advocate a sort of review of the day, where people take a bit of time out to look back over their day and assess what had been going on, what happened to them , how they reacted etc.
Some people take this literally as looking back over their day, every day. Other people take it as a more general process of being aware of whats going on around them during the day, sometimes known also as mindfulness, and others will take it as a more formal process, often using a retreat of some kind as time away to think things through. People's personal preferences for how often and when they do it will obviously vary , but the point of it is what matters, and there are two important elements.
Firstly is the value of taking time out specifically for the purpose of reflecting on things. Giving an activity a specific block of time, whether its five minutes or five days, concentrates the mind on that specific activity and give you the space to do (or not do ! ) the activity you've set time aside for. The other, and most specific, value of reflecting, is that you are consciously looking at (and hopefully evaluating) things that happen at a subconscious level, or just automatically during the day. When you are able to look at something at a conscious level, what you're really doing is looking at it with a measure of objectivity that you can't do at the time. Having some measure of objectivity about who you are will give you a measure of awareness that will serve you well. It is of course dependent on a willingness to look in the first place !
If you don not find the term reflection helpful or it really is a bit of a mouthful, think of it in terms of self awareness, which is a really solid way of approaching your own life. The more knowledge you have about you and where you are coming from the freer you will actually feel, and the freer you will be. Freedom is an internal process more than anything else, and that is often something we spot later in life.