500 - 0 BC / Pythagoras / Reflect & Review

Top 3 Daily Reflection Questions Pythagoras and His Followers Asked

By Effluo | Published March 7, 2022 | No Comments

A hundred years before Plato’s and Socrates’ famous emphasis on self-reflection, Pythagoras already had outlined top daily reflection questions and provided us with a daily reflection practicum.  He lived around 500 years BC, which would make his teachings two thousand and five hundred years old.

Pythagoras spent the first part of his adult life learning the secret knowledge from Egyptian scholars.  He then shared this knowledge with his followers back home in Greece.  To become his follower, you would be expected to complete a three-year initiation period before you could be admitted into his secret society.  

Fortunately, we no longer need to endure three years of trials before being initiated into this knowledge.  We just need to suffer through reading old English in the translation of Pythagoras’s The Golden Verses. 

His focus on daily self-reflection was outlined in verses 40-46.  Pythagoras listed the top three daily reflection questions and outlined a daily reflection practicum related to these questions. 

Pythagoras’ daily reflection questions and practicum

40.  Never suffer sleep to close thy eyelids, after thy going to bed,

41.  Till thou hast examined by thy reason all thy actions of the day.

42.  Wherein have I done amiss?

42.  What have I done?

42.  What have I omitted that I ought to have done?

43.  If in this examination thou find that thou hast done amiss, reprimand thyself severely for it;

44.  And if thou hast done any good, rejoice. 

45.  Practise thoroughly all these things; meditate on them well; thou oughtest to love them with all thy heart. 

46.  ‘Tis they that will put thee in the way of divine virtue.

Pythagoras

Daily reflection practicum

40.  Never suffer sleep to close thy eyelids, after thy going to bed,

41.  Till thou hast examined by thy reason all thy actions of the day.

Pythagoras

Do not fall asleep until you have examined all of your actions of the day.

The application of reflection in our daily life begins with developing a habit of daily self-reflection.  Pythagoras teaches that you should not go to sleep until you have reflected on the course of the day.  Review the actions of the day and accomplishments.  Either mentally or in a written format, capture what you did during the day.  Review any tasks that were completed and daily goals that were achieved. 

After actions of the day were reviewed and / or written down, proceed to ask the three questions about the day.

1.   What did not go well?

42.  Wherein have I done amiss?

43.  If in this examination thou find that thou hast done amiss, reprimand thyself severely for it;

Pythagoras

What did not go well?   If you find that you did not do something well in the examination of the day, take responsibility for it.  

This first self reflection question focuses on daily failures.  Specifically, Pythagoras stated that should you notice any failures, you should reprimand yourself for it.   This means do not make excuses for why it did not work out, but figure out a way not to repeat the same mistake.  

For example, if you complete 5 out 10 tasks scheduled for the day.   Stop and figure out the reason why only 5 tasks were completed.  Did you overschedule yourself?  Was the amount of time needed underestimated?  Did you get distracted?  How important were the 5 tasks that were not completed?

It is important to identify where things went wrong.  This will help you in figuring out how to not repeat the same thing all over again.  Without this step, you risk repeating the failure.

2.   What went well?

42.  What have I done?

44.  And if thou hast done any good, rejoice. 

Pythagoras

What went well?  And if you did any good, celebrate.

The second self-reflection question focuses on daily successes.   Specifically, celebrate your accomplishments.   It is essential to focus on areas of improvement as identified in the first question.  However, this is where most people stop.   Rarely are the accomplishments celebrated.  According to Pythagoras, these are just as important. 

Take pride in the work that was done well.  If you complete 5 out of 10 tasks, it is essential to celebrate that 5 tasks were completed.  This will give you the energy to continue moving forward towards goal achievement.

Without this step, you risk falling into constant self-criticism and may miss the growth and improvement that is actually taking place.

3.  What should I change going forward?

42.  What have I omitted that I ought to have done?

Pythagoras

What did I miss that should have been done?  This is synonymous with what should I change going forward? 

The third self-reflection question is focused on the future.   Having now reflected on what went well and what did not go well, it is time to focus on what changes you can make going forward.  This is important as you do not want to repeat the same errors repeatedly.  

Going back to the same example of completing 5 out of 10 tasks.  You now have the answers as to why they were not completed.  Now it’s time to answer what was omitted. 

Was your expectation of what could be done exaggerated?  Did you underestimate the amount of time needed to complete these tasks?  Going forward, it is important to be realistic when setting daily goals and assigning time durations for them.  

Where the 5 incomplete tasks important?  If yes, then prioritize these accordingly going forward.  If not, then consider removing them from the task list altogether.

This is a very important step to make changes and adjustments as you continue on your journey of goal achievement.

Application of reflection in our daily life

45.  Practise thoroughly all these things; meditate on them well; thou oughtest to love them with all thy heart. 

46.  ‘Tis they that will put thee in the way of divine virtue.

Pythagoras

Practice thoroughly all these things, meditate on them well; you ought to love them with all your heart.  It is they that will put you in the way of divine virtue.

Pythagoras pointed out that this practice of daily self-reflection will “put thee in the way of divine virtue” or help you become the best version of yourself.  It is the small daily actions that make you who you are.  The daily wins and failures build your character and develop your habits. 

Constant revision of these actions puts you in the driver’s seat.  You will no longer be a passive observer of your life.  You will be taking charge and actively shaping yourself into the person you want to be.

If you are interested in learning more about Pythagoras and what he considered to be failures and taught his students to avoid, read 5 Things To Avoid According to Pythagoras and His Followers.

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