What would make your characters reflect on their actions to date/their attitudes to life? Being made to confront the consequences of what you are doing would be one major reason to take time out to reflect, especially if there was time to reverse matters or limit any damage done. Love, as they say, changes everything and can be a major influence in making people change their behaviour (usually for the better, but this isn't always the case).
Sometimes a character will take time out to reflect before heading out on their adventure/quest etc. What is interesting here is how that period of reflection influences what the character then does. If your characters do this, how do they reflect? On their own or do they have a mentor? Do they look up books (especially history) to find out how others in their world's past handled certain situations? If the characters themselves will be setting a precedent, are there general guidelines to give them pointers as to what they should be doing?
Last but not least, are the characters themselves willing to learn from the reflections of others?