THE LAW OF REFLECTION
Learning to Pause Allows Growth to Catch Up with You
I think reflecting may be one of the most forgotten activities known to man (and woman). Maybe the reason is because most of us don’t really know how to. Isn’t it strange, one of the most important activities to be successful and they don’t teach you how to do it in school.
The first step to reflecting is to find a place to do it, and then schedule the time. You can even build reflecting time into something you’re already doing. If you run, ride bike, or swim you can build reflection time into one of those activities. It may not be the ideal setting, but I think being intentional is more important.John outlines how to reflect by using your “I’s” when you take time to pause;
- Investigation – Pausing is about finding meaning in each experience
- Incubation – Like Crock-Pot cooking, incubation allows experiences and thoughts to grow to their own full potential
- Illumination – The process of placing value on your experiences and performance. “They either applaud you or prod you” – Jim Rohn
- Illustration – The process of expanding your experiences into teachable lessons.
One of the main reasons to reflect is to learn more about yourself. Who knows, this may be the reason why some people don’t reflect. John has ten Personal Awareness Questions to ask yourself;
- What is my biggest asset?
- What is my biggest liability?
- What is my highest high?
- What is my lowest low?
- What is my most worthwhile emotion?
- What is my least worthwhile emotion?
- What is my best habit?
- What is my worst habit?
- What is most fulfilling to me?
- What is my most prized possession?
Napoleon Hill in Think and Grow Rich has a Self-Analysis Questionnaire For Personal Inventory which I’ve listed in the December 2012 Exploring Leadership Soulutions newsletter. But it doesn’t really matter what questions you ask yourself, just start reflecting, the questions and insights will come. To experience growth in a specific area of your life, ask specific questions to that area of your life.
In John Maxwell’s book, How Successful People Think he has a chapter on reflective thinking and states five reasons why it’s so important to do it;
- Reflective thinking gives you true perspective
- Reflective thinking gives you emotional integrity to your thought life
- Reflective thinking increases your confidence in decision making
- Reflective thinking clarifies the big picture
- Reflective thinking takes a good experience and makes it a valuable experience
Grab a journal or notebook and start reflective thinking. Your future success might depend on it.
“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”