Anne Frank Quote on Reflection and Doing Better Each Day

“How noble and good everyone could be if at the end of the day they were to review their own behavior and weigh up the rights and wrongs. They would automatically try to do better at the start of each new day, and after a while, would certainly accomplish a great deal.”
Anne Frank, via Stillness is the Key (Page 53)

Beyond the Quote (104/365)

How often do you just sit down at the end of a long day and reflect? Reflect on what went well and what didn’t go so well; what could have been improved and what could have been discarded; what made you smile and what made you sad; what you might have done differently and what you think was right on point. See, reflection isn’t just about thinking. What really happens when you take time to reflect on your day is you are taking responsibility for what happened and you are taking control of where you’re heading. Reflection, in this sense, is your Life GPS.

If you set out for some far and distant land, you’ll likely need a GPS at some point along the way. GPS makes travel exponentially easier. It shows you where you are, when to make your next turn, how long it will be until you have to make that turn, heck, it even talks to you as you go—and it’s all in real time! If you’re anything like me, then even if you know you’re on a straightaway for another 100 miles, you still check the dang thing every few minutes just to make sure you’re still on track! Why? Because we don’t want to make a wrong turn. Well, what about doing the same for your life?

We are all on a quest to a far and distant land. Some of us have a pretty good idea of where that might be and some of us don’t have the slightest clue. Some of us want to get to a certain point in our careers, some want to obtain and collect certain items, some want to build a legacy that’s memorable, some want to push themselves to their upper physical limits, some want to help people in big ways, some want to create a beautiful family, some want to do all of the above and more. Ultimately, none of us can know for sure what exactly the future holds. It’s a mystery that’s revealed to us one moment at a time, one day at a time. And while keeping our eyes on the destination we want to arrive at is important, keeping our eye on the GPS for our direction is even more important.

If you’re driving from New York to California, for example, keeping your eyes on California the whole time isn’t going to get you there faster. In fact, it will probably make the trip take much longer because you won’t have the step-by-step navigation. If you keep your eyes on the GPS, however, then you’ll know when it’s time to turn left, turn right, drive straight, and how to adjust if you make a wrong turn. In life, reflection does the same thing for you. Reflection tells you which people to turn towards, which people to turn away from, which actions are taking you closer to your destination, and which actions are taking you further away. These micro-adjustments are crucial for long-distance travel, which is exactly the type of travel that we’re all engaged in in our lives.

If you haven’t checked your Life GPS in a while, it might be a good idea to check where you’re at today. Find a space that has minimal distractions (or limit the distractions yourself), and try sitting and writing. Writing, in my opinion, is better than just thinking because writing allows you to get thoughts out of your head. Thinking keeps thoughts in your head. When you write thoughts down on paper you free up thinking space that can be used for new, better thoughts. Ever get a train of thought stuck in your head that kept cycling around over and over again? That’s what we’re trying to get out.

Reflect on the thoughts I mentioned above, write them down in no particular order and in no particular way, sit with the results, and compare your current direction with your ultimate destination. Are you on track? Are you moving forward or backwards? What micro-adjustments need to be made? Then, when you wake up the next day, you’ll be ready to move forward—automatically. The work will have already been done. And how much more you might accomplish as a result of that is a great deal worth considering. Anne Frank seemed to think so. Happy travels!