That walk from your boss’s cabin to your desk … same distance which is sometimes very short, with a relieved and refreshing mind, and sometimes very long, rattled and engrossed.
Not all conversations go well and often we find it very hard to tackle. The conversation you just had with your boss or anybody for that matter, could either be exposing your limitations and surface opportunity areas or sometimes it can also be very re-energising or trigger a sense of renewal.
What we go through in situations like these are – ‘reflections’ and depending on how we take it, these moments could produce varied sentiments.
“We do NOT learn from experience, we learn from reflecting on experience.” — John Dewey
Reflections are nothing but, looking into a mirror and describing what you see. It is a way of assessing yourself, your ways of working which helps you to develop your skills and review their effectiveness!
Self-reflection is a very powerful free tool which gives us perspective and helps us to understand ourselves better.
Trust me – it’s not easy to start at this 😃, as it does not come naturally to majority of us, and in-fact even I am still trying to be regular at this and hence the post - where I am trying to share my own experience.
I have found it very productive that - when we create some lonely time for ourselves and do some regular self-introspection, it’s actually a game changer!
But how and where to start:
Most of our perennial learning comes NOT from doing, BUT from thinking about what we do, and why we do.
Often, we go through our day-to-day life without spending too much time “processing” our experiences. This processing is very important and fuels creativity.
Questioning in a positive way, what you do and why you do it and then subsequently pondering over , whether there is a better, or more efficient way of doing it in the future.
Just think about this - can I sit quietly for about 5-10 mins daily and reflect on - “If I were to re-live today again, what 3 things would I change to make today better?” Yes! That’s where we need to start. And as I said – it’s not easy!
When we participate in new experiences, experiences that are outside of our comfort zone or outside of our routine, there is often a lot of learning that can take place.
If we really wish to be a person of indomitable spirit, we must cultivate ‘habits’, good habits of-course! 😃
One of them is certainly creating ‘time-alone’ for yourself. It’s a time of solitude, where you spend time with yourself.
Our brain is constantly processing and unravelling. Most of the time it’s about our ‘delivery responsibility’ in this busy and competitive world. A cup of tea alone, a walk in the park, writing daily diaries or blogs, or even a quiet five minutes at the end of the day could make all the difference where we may ask Q’s to ourselves, like -
· Did I use my time wisely today?
· Could I be a person other can respect?
· Did I make a positive impact today?
· Did I respect myself and valued my strengths today? ….
Such introspective Q’s can be really helpful and can potentially provoke us to think - whether I am progressing steadily in the line of my end vision, or just ‘being busy’.
Peter Drucker says:
“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection, will come even more effective action.”
In my personal experience, I have found that -
· Solitude allows you to reboot your brain and unwind!
· It’s always healthy to disconnect, unplug discover yourself, and find your own voice!
· You will have better ways of solving problems and may get unexpected flashes of creative insight.
So, I urge, go ahead and schedule some ‘time alone’ for you, where its only your and with you.
And please do comment, if you have ever experienced the effectiveness of doing such self-reflection, and if my own reflections about ‘self-reflection’ is reflecting right :)?
Happy Reading!
-Deba ... ( Debajit Kataki)
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