Soul-searching (noun)

The act of examining one"s inner self and emotions to determine one"s true feelings or beliefs.

Origin:

Compound noun from "soul" and "searching".

Examples:

1. He did some soul-searching before making the decision to leave the company.
2. The soul-searching helped her to understand her true feelings.
3. The soul-searching helped him to come to terms with his past.
4. The book prompted a lot of soul-searching among its readers.
5. She took a sabbatical for a year to do some soul-searching.