What does it mean to take a cold, hard look at yourself? When is it necessary?

Question

How do you go about "looking inside yourself"?

[no gross comments about using mirrors!]

Answer 1

A seasoned saint learns to do introspection constantly...

Answer 2

It means to consider yourself objectively.  Are you behaving in an honest way, are you kind to others etc.  No excuses, just an straight conversation with yourself.

The easiest way is to consider a situation that happened recently and think about it.  For example last time you thought something was unfair.Was it really unfair?  Or just the way the world is sometimes?  Is the world always unfair to you...or do you always look for things to complain about - that's the "cold, hard" bit.  You have to look at your attitudes and behaviour and see if sometimes you are the cause of problems.

Answer 3

use an endoscope...

Answer 4

From time to time, it is necessary to review all of the assumptions that you have made, and see if they hold up under the weight of present evidence.  This becomes particularly necessary when you encounter data that suggests that some part of your epistemology is wrong.  It is especially necessary if you think that some sort of religion is valid; since there is no evidence to support any theory of religion, you need to understand why you would believe such a thing without evidence, and spend resources on something that is not demonstrably true.

Answer 5

Evaluate you character and be honest about what type of person you really are.  Sometimes we are a lot more crappy than we like to see ourselves.  Think of the things that you expect from others and the things others do to hurt you. Then look at how often you do those exact things to other people.  It can be surprising, a lot of times things you dislike about others are qualities you possess the most yourself.  

Answer 6

To me that would mean to check yourself. Values, Morals, Reasons for how you're living. You know that we are harder on ourselves than others are most of the time. Sometimes we become snooty, or can't see the forest for the tree's sometimes. So when we take a look at ourselves then we find things that we can improve on. Most people can see others faults but not their own. Plus when we look past ours it don't seem to hurt as bad. Best Wishes.

Answer 7

It simply means to evaluate your life and what you're doing

--You need to be real "in your face" with yourself and probably face some things you may not like admitting  

Answer 8

It called evaluating yourself without being biased.  It is necessary to do, if you plan on making changes in your life.  

Answer 9

it means to see yourself and your actions in the most critical way.

you should do it every single day.

Answer 10

Looking at the bad things you do instead of just the good things.

Answer 11

Interesting question ( as usual) ((Hope))

I've been finding things in me that I do not like at all. Especially recently. Like anything, recognizing that its there is the first step. Then more to moderate or change.

I'm still in the recognition stages of my latest realizations.

Answer 12

You don't HAVE to use mirrors, Saucepan lids that have been polished work just as well.