As I said here, self-examination leads at first to an examination of one’s own inner processes. There’s a benefit to be had there: observing how one tends to respond to various situational triggers is the first necessary step in disarming unhelpful behaviors. When these mechanisms operate outside of your awareness, you’re powerless to do anything about them.
But there’s a potential pitfall there, too. You can get so absorbed in your head stuff that you become disengaged from others. People who live in their heads tend to be pretty miserable folks.
The great payoff of self-examination involves carrying it so far that notions of self are transcended entirely. The world reveals itself as your own body. This is not easy, and can’t happen as long as you’re limiting your self-examination to head stuff.
Even this culmination of self-examination has its potential pitfalls. It too can be toxic if you cling to it.