This week we will explore what REFLECTION is and how to do it.
Learning to pause allows growth to catch up with you.
Regular Reflection gives you perspective, emotional integrity, increased confidence, and clarity of the big picture. It can make a good experience, a valuable experience.
I don’t understand how many people go through a whole day, a whole week, or even their entire lives without calling a timeout to reflect.
Don’t let people who meet, or experiences that you have, pass you without REFLECTING on them. Reflection is where gratitude happens. Reflection is where the resolve to change things happens.
Experience is not the best teacher; EVALUATED experience is the best teacher.
If experience were the best teacher, then as people got older, they would automatically be wiser. Yet I know people who are older and they aren’t one bit wiser. They are not more mature.
Doing whatever you do, doesn't make you good at it. You must be able to look at it and evaluate it from a different perspective. It’s not what you did; it’s what you learned from what you did that will help you grow and develop yourself as a person.
What did you love most about the day? What did you learn?
There are several types of reflection
Reflection comes in several different types for different reasons and uses.
Event Reflection - When you leave a meeting or an event and specifically review the actions, formally or informally. That's Reflection! Perhaps the details of the meeting were not captured fully or you considered something additional that needed to be included in the notes. Possibly something especially poignant occurred that prompted you to revisit the meeting or event.
Daily Reflection - Reflecting on Each Day
Set 15 minutes at the end of the day to reflect on what you accomplished.
Review your daily tasks.
Mark each item completed at the end of the day that was completed.
If you delegated the item to someone else, set a reminder to follow up and mark the item with a forward arrow and the initials of the designee.
Unmarked, or uncompleted items will be used as the basis for tomorrow’s list
Spend a minute and review who you met with today.
Are there any follow-up actions required? If so, put them on your calendar now if you haven't already.
How can you add value to that person?
Schedule any tasks that resulted from your meetings.
Weekly Reflection - Building you to reach your potential.
Plan 1 hour per week to reflect on your passions and purpose
Review your goals - Reflect on the progress you have made on each of your goals
Review the week
Celebrate your wins- personal and professional
Evaluate your Experiences - It’s not what you did; it’s what you LEARNED from what you did that will help you grow and develop yourself.
Experience is not the best teacher, Evaluated Experience is!
Good questions are at the core of reflection
Questions That Promote Reflection
1. What did I LEARN today?
2. How can I APPLY what I learned today? Learning without application quickly becomes lost.
3. How can I PASS ON what I learned today?
Those three very simple questions are great for reflection.
During your initial reflection, as you prepare to build your personal growth plan, explore these questions for a greater sense of your awareness of who you are:
A. What is my biggest asset?
B. What is my biggest liability?
C. What is my highest high?
D. What is my lowest low?
E. What are my most worthwhile emotions?
E. What are my least worthwhile emotions?
G. What are my best habits?
I. What are my worst habits?
J. What is my most prized possession?
Personal growth is the process of understanding who you are, evaluating your life goals and building experiences that support those choices.
This requires looking inward. Success is always an inside job! This process is not always comfortable. Remember, growth begins at the end of your comfort zone.
Set Time For Reflection
Begin by setting aside time in a place where you can think and carefully consider your future.
Feed your mind, body, and soul. Commit to doing the things that keep your spirit fresh and stimulated. Being a leader requires perspective. Leaders cannot give what they do not have.
STEP 2: Make a Personal Commitment to Grow
Plan to spend time working on it weekly.
That means write this down and commit to coming back to this until you have completed it.
This is a plan for your life. Make sure you take the needed time to get it all worked out. It can take you several tries to get it how you want it. But plan it, schedule the time, and do it. Get started as quickly as you can on the items in your plan.
Don’t let “Better” be a hostage to “Perfect.”
More Questions to ask yourself over time:
Reflection is a lifetime skill. For me, it has become a bit of a respite at times. Reflection is what I do when I need to make sense of it all. The habit of weekly reflection brings peace and wisdom to my life and can do the same for yours. Over time I have found that the questions are sometimes easy to come by, but at other times, I find I need some help. The following questions may help you with specific issues and provide your mind the needed prompt to release the appropriate thought process.
Relationship Questions
With whom would you most like to build a relationship during the coming year? In what ways might this relationship differ from your existing relationships, and how would this relationship enhance or enrich your life?
If you are married: What makes your spouse feel loved? What makes you
feel loved? If you are single: What are the ten most important qualities you desire in your ideal mate? Do you exemplify the same qualities you seek?
Who are the three most important people in your life? Is there a conflict or problem that needs to be resolved in any of these relationships? If so, what first step could you take to resolve it?
What relationships are draining your energy? What are you willing to do about it? When?
What payoff are you receiving for remaining in a relationship that isn’t working?
What are you afraid that people will find out about you? Why?
Who in your life loves you simply for being who you are? Who in your life is more impressed with what you do, who you know, or your accomplishments? How do you feel about it?
Work Questions
How does your current primary work allow you to express your natural gifts and talents?
What does your ideal work-life look like?
What are the top five indicators that show that you are successful in your work?
Who is your mentor, and how can you best use the insights, opportunities, and wisdom they have to offer? In return, how can you best express your appreciation for this person?
If you lose your job tomorrow, what options would you most want to explore? Is it time to start exploring those options now?
In what ways does your work impact your relationships, finances, and spiritual growth?
Ten years from now, what will you wish you had done during this period of your career?
Finances and Resources
Of the resources available to you, which three—in priority order—are most abundant in your life?
What resources or opportunities are going unused or are being underused in your life? What can you do to better utilize them?
How do your resources help you take steps on the path to the life that you were born to live?
What resource do you want more of, and what actions could you take to acquire more of this resource?
How have you wasted resources in the past? What is the greatest lesson you learned as a result?
In what ways can you improve your existing talents? If you made these improvements, what impact would it have on your life?
What improvements are needed in your personal finances as they relate to the following areas:
Financial Credit Report Real Estate
Debt Investments Business
Savings Taxes Giving
Physical Health and Environments Questions
In what area (s) do you need to take better care of yourself physically? What action (s) are you willing to take?
How do you feel when you decide to put yourself first? Guilty? Empowered? Selfish? Why?
When was your last complete physical, and when will you schedule your next one?
When do you find yourself indulging in unhealthy habits? Why?
What habits are having a negative impact on your health or physical well-being? What are you willing to do to make a change?
How do you feel when you are alone in complete peace and quiet? Are you comfortable or uncomfortable? Do you get bored easily, feel the urge to make a phone call, or turn on the television or some other background noise?
What bothers you most about your environments? What are you willing to do this week to create a sanctuary from stress at work? In your car? At home?
Spiritual Life Questions
If God were in on this conversation, what do you think He’d say to you?
In what ways are you fulfilling your life purpose? What more do you want to do to fulfill your calling during your lifetime?
What have you been most angry or frustrated with God about? When and why?
For what in your life are you most grateful?
If you could have a face-to-face conversation with God right now, what three questions would you most like Him to answer? Have you asked those questions in prayer?
In what situations have you been responding with anger, frustration, or lack of forgiveness? How could you replace your negative attitudes with love?
What three desires would you most like God to fulfill in your life? How can you exercise patience, gratefulness, and cooperation as God responds to these desires?
In what areas of your life do you struggle most? How could your relationship with God help you win the struggle over this issue? Note: the areas in which we struggle vary because of our individual personalities and situations, but there are a few areas to consider as you ponder your answer to this question.
IN the next Edition:
We will discuss Commitment, Growth and Values
See you then.
Scott
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