[Nearsification]

Well honestly I don't do it enough.

I'm so worried about everyone elses mind. Every elses feelings. I tend to ignore my own. I replace my need to understand my inner emotions by understanding others. Mines never really been important to me. To the point when I do something I don't know why until I see the results.

A perfect example of this is when I see someone at my school getting bullied or getting made fun of I feel bad so I like to do something stupid so they bother me instead. But when I think about it. Those insults I guess don't hurt me. Or did they? When the plan is in action I become robotic and prepare myself for it. I don't pay enough attention to my feelings and how I react. I'm much more interested and worried about other people.

[Azure Bass]

I doubt myself and it's already over. I over think and it's already over. The flow of negative traits in situations is inevitable, but at least I notice it. If I can negate pessimism and allow constructive introspection to take place, it is my right-hand man. To me, pessimism is a crutch and optimism is an inner strength. It's reflected in my strengths quest results as my second highest strength, 'strategic'. The first being 'includer'. For me, I just have to remember that I'm human and I'll make mistakes.But the choice is mine to make when I know what I'm up against internally.

[unico]

I introspect way too much, almost constantly. It causes me a lot of anxiety. Sometimes I introspect on more neutral/positive issues, but it still causes me anxiety from the more negative and uncertain aspects I focus on. I do feel I know myself pretty well, though, and don't get too confused on my feelings or thoughts, etc.

[William I am]

Hmmmm. With all the talk everyone's doing about "introspection" I wonder if we all mean the same thing by it.

There's a big BIG HUGE difference between thinking about all the random problem-seeking and anxiety driven planning that we do

and sitting back, calming down, and seeing how we really feel and what we really believe to be true.

I feel like a lot of the things I worry about are just a way to keep myself from being bored when I'm alone or not engaged by my situation.

Though I can tell you a million thoughts I have at any given moment, it is very hard for me to sort through all the noise of my thoughts to find what I really believe. I find asking myself questions, or having someone else ask them, is very helpful. And when I come up with an answer, questioning the validity of my answer really helps.

I like doing something that shuts up my "chattering monkey brain"(someone else's term), which is almost always something physical(bike rides?) or life-affirming (loud music anyone?) or something that is really funny (Hyperbole and a Half). Then I sit back when I'm in the mood and barrage my off-guard mind and get the real answers. They're not forthcoming. In fact, I've been paying attention to this for a couple years and it takes me about two weeks to know how I actually feel about something.
The devil's advocate "my this is an interesting perspective/idea/thought/possibility" thoughs are a dime a dozen, and are not introspection. They're noise we have to find ways around in order to listen to our true feelings.

Cheers!