Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is this week. In the Jewish religion, in the 10 days between Rosh Hashanah (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur, a Jew should self reflect and try to amend his or her behavior and seek forgiveness for wrong doings.  At the end of Yom Kippur, one hopes that they have received forgiveness.
I am not a religious Jew, but the idea of reflecting on your deeds from the previous year resonates with me.

Spend some time engaged in self-reflection

Self reflection helps you look inward, assess where you are and what you can improve. It is an opportunity for slowing down, adopting a mindset of not knowing and curiosity, considering multiple perspectives and seeing where you did well and what you can improve.

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection, will come even more effective action.” Peter Drucker 

Be honest with yourself

Ask yourself questions such as:

• What am I avoiding?
• Have I tried my hardest at XXX?
• Did I set and maintain high standards for myself?
• Did I fully apply myself to the job search?
• Was I fully invested in my career?
• How am I not helping or even hindering my progress?
• How might I be contributing to my least enjoyable relationships?

Nurture a Growth Mindset

Self reflection helps create a growth mindset, growing and learning from everything you do. Look back and focus on what you can learn from your experiences. How can you do better next time.

Accountability

Is not a punitive response to something going wrong. It is the ability to be honest.  It is about accepting responsibility for your actions, giving you the space to learn and do better in the future. We all make mistakes. It is how you deal with them, taking responsibility for what you have done, and learning from them, that will deter you from repeating them.

Often when interviewing candidates, I look for the qualities of self reflection and accountability. Does the candidate take responsibility for their decisions/actions? Were things always someone else’s fault? If they made a mistake, took a job that did not work out for example, do they admit to it? Do they demonstrate that they learnt from the experience?

I like to see accountability as including the ability to say sorry when needed, and right the wrongs. Take some time for self reflection and introspection, apologize for wrongs you did, and do your best to learn from them in the future.