The word, reflection, among other definitions, describes
a situation whereby a person engages in serious thought or deep consideration
of things that have happened in the past with a view to identify success areas
and those for improvement, expansion, etc. At the end of the year, a lot of
people, including groups, organizations and institutions take time out to reflect
on their experience/performance during the months past with a view to planning
for a better future. When the reflection exercise is done personally, it is
described as self-reflection.
With self-reflection you take time to think about
your life and your purpose, as well as your place in the world. You question
the choices you have made in life, in the past year(s), or along career and
business lines and as you do so, you run a check on whether you are still
living true to your own values and achieving your goals. It is a very
valuable exercise for personal development and growth.
Carl Sandburg puts it this way: “A man must find time for himself. Time is what we spend our
lives with. If we are not careful we find others spending it for us. . . . It
is necessary now and then for a man to go away by himself and experience
loneliness; to sit on a rock in the forest and to ask of himself, 'Who am I,
and where have I been, and where am I going?' . . . If one is not careful, one
allows diversions to take up one's time—the stuff of life.”
Jeff Cobb shares a few of the
ways reflection can impact your life and your learning:
1.
It helps you learn from – and get past – your mistakes
“I have not failed,
I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work,” Thomas Edison is often quoted
(or perhaps misquoted) as having said. You can
bet Edison spent time going back over his mistakes and failures, but he did it
as a means of finding his way forward to future successes.
2.
It helps you learn from – and celebrate – your successes.
We can and should
learn from our mistakes and failures, but there is also evidence that we may learn
more from our successes. In any case, there is not much joy in
living and learning if we don’t take time to acknowledge the things we have
done right – and build upon them.
3.
It helps you make connections and generate new ideas.
When you take time
to think back through your experiences, you almost inevitably begin to see
connections among them that were not obvious at first. One thing always leads
to another when you are reflecting, and before you know it, you’ve got a great
new idea – whether for a convenient, affordable way to provide light to the
average household, like Edison.
4.
It helps you to help others
Ideally, those
connections you see when you reflect include connections to others. No learner
is an island. How can you share what you’ve learned and how you have learned it
in a way that benefits others? I think that simple question tends to be the
foundation for so many successful personal relationships as well as businesses
and nonprofit initiatives. And it all starts with reflection.
5.
It gives you perspective and helps you relax.
So many of us,
myself included, live lives that are overly busy and flooded by a continual
stream of new information. We make mistakes, get overwhelmed, and succumb to
stress. Taking a few minutes daily to reflect, though, has an incredibly
calming effect. It can help us put all of our efforts into perspective. Living
and learning are not about some grand, ultimate goal. They are simply about
learning and living. Relax.
How
to Achieve Successful Self-Reflection
1.
The
Purpose: Why do you want to engage in self-reflection? Is
it that things aren’t going right with you or it about assessing the
performance of your goals? It is also important that you be precise about what
your self-reflection will be centered upon. Will it be about your academic
pursuit? Career or business? Relationships? Faith? Weight loss? Or what?
2.
Seclusion:
Self-reflection is actually, a lonely exercise. You need a quiet place, devoid
of distraction to successfully engage in self-reflection. You may need some
writing materials to jot down ideas and revelations that come to you as you reflect
in time and experience.
3.
Self-Talk:
Self-reflection has also been described as an opportunity to engage your
senses. You’ll be doing a whole lot of thinking, something like a total recall,
on the purpose(s) of your self-reflection. As you write them down, you will
confront yourself on areas where you need to provide answers. It may sound like
some ‘out-of-body’ experience but remember, it’s just you and nobody else, so
the only pressure on you is from you. At this moment, you cannot lie to
yourself because you need to get everything out, and frankly too.
4.
Read:
You can utilize the period of your self-reflection to read about people who may
have had your type of experience and how they got through theirs. When one is ‘in
the dumps’, it seems like you are the only one who’s been through it…until you
find someone or others who has/have. Their story can be a great help to your
outcome.
5.
Take
Action: Start with the good times. Counting your blessings
is a great way to stay encouraged and strengthened. A grateful heart sees every
experience as a gift. Why and how did you succeed? Then, courageously, list out
the ‘not-so-good’ times with a careful review of the situation. What went
wrong? By whom? How can we avoid a recurrence? A final step would be to chart
the way forward, bearing in mind that someone just may be a beneficiary of your
journey.
So, we’ve come to the
end of another year. How have you fared? At Teens+, we’ll be taking time off to
reflect on our mission. How have we impacted your life with our weekly
exhortations? We have had raving reviews and gotten involved in quite a number
of counseling interventions but will that translate to a success story?
We intend to take a
cue from Ashly Lorenzana: “Even if you think
you're doing well and have it all figured out, there is a voice you will always
inevitably hear at some point which nags at you and says "but
wait..." Don't ever dismiss it, listen to what it has to say. Life will
never be close enough to perfect, and listening to that voice means stepping
outside of yourself and considering your own wrongdoings and flaws.”
As
you plan for the Christmas season, the festive period, and holidays, set aside
some time for reflection. You need to take an assessment of 2018 (or even
earlier) and put together your plan for 2019. Here’s wishing you all a very
Merry Christmas and an awesome New Year 2019 in advance!!!
Acknowledgment:
www.wikihow.com
