Take advantage of Reflective Thinking.
The fast-paced nature of our culture does not allow us much time for introspection. The majority of individuals would rather do something than think about it. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a hater. I’m a person who takes initiative. I am a high-energy person who enjoys seeing things through to completion. But I’m also a critical thinker who takes everything into consideration.
Reflective thought may be compared to a slow cooker for the mind. It encourages you to let your ideas stew until they are finished. It is my intention to reflect during this process in order to learn from my accomplishments and failures, identify what I should strive to replicate, and decide what I should alter. It is a beneficial activity at all times. You may think more clearly if you mentally go back in time and revisit previous circumstances.
1. Reflective thinking allows you to see things from a different perspective.
The holidays used to be a time for us to take our children on fantastic vacations, especially when they were small and still living at home. When we returned home, they were always aware that I would ask them two questions: “What did you enjoy the most?” and “What did you take away with you?” Whatever destination we chose (Walt Disney World or Washington, D.C.), we had a great time.
Those were the kinds of inquiries I was usually asking. Why? Because I wanted them to think about what they had just gone through. Children are incapable of appreciating the worth (or expense) of an experience unless they are explicitly taught. They are used to taking things for granted. I wanted my children to enjoy and benefit from our vacations, as well as to take something away from them.
When you take the time to reflect, you are better equipped to put an event into context. You are in a position to assess its timeliness. In addition, you are able to develop a fresh respect for things that were previously overlooked. The majority of individuals are only able to appreciate the sacrifices made by their parents or other loved ones once they become parents themselves.. That’s the type of viewpoint that emerges as a result of thinking about something.
2. Reflective thinking helps you to maintain emotional integrity in your thoughts.
In the throes of an emotional storm, few individuals are able to maintain their composure. The majority of people who appreciate the excitement of a new experience want to go back and relive it without first attempting to analyse what they have just experienced. The fact that our society creates so many thrill seekers is due to this.) Additionally, persons who have survived a terrible event are more likely to avoid such circumstances at all costs, which might result in their being emotionally tied.
It is possible to step back from the powerful emotions associated with especially positive or negative events and look at them with new eyes via the use of reflective thinking. With the benefit of emotional maturity, you may look back on your previous experiences and look forward to catastrophes that were based on truth and reasoning. That method may assist a person in getting rid of a lot of unwanted emotional baggage that they are dragging around with them.
When asked about looking back, President Washington said that “we ought not to look back unless it is for the goal of deriving helpful lessons from previous blunders, and for the purpose of gaining from dearly purchased experience.” Any emotion that can stand up to the light of truth and can be maintained over time has emotional integrity and is thus worthy of your attention and affection (both mental and emotional).
Take advantage of Reflective Thinking.
3. The ability to reflect on your decisions increases your confidence in decision-making.
Have you ever made a hasty decision and then questioned whether or not you made the proper decision? Everyone has one.
Reflective thinking may aid in the dissipation of the uncertainty. It also instills confidence in you to make the following choice. When you’ve pondered on a problem, you don’t have to go through every stage of the thought process again when you’re confronted with the same problem.
Because you’ve been there before, you’ve developed mental road markers. This shortens and accelerates the amount of time you spend thinking, while also instilling confidence. Additionally, it has the potential to improve your intuition over time.
4. Reflective Thinking helps to make the big picture more clear.
By practicing reflective thinking, you may better understand and place ideas and experiences into a more realistic perspective.
Retrospective thinking encourages us to look back on our actions and observations and reflect on them for a period of time thereafter. If a person who has lost his or her work takes the time to think on what occurred, he or she may see a pattern of events that led to his or her dismissal. He will have a greater understanding of what occurred, why it occurred, and what aspects of the situation were his responsibility.
Taking into consideration the circumstances that transpired later, he may come to the conclusion that, in the grand scheme of things, he is better off in his new job since it is more in line with his abilities and aspirations. It may be quite difficult to perceive the larger picture if one does not take time to ponder.
5. Reflective Thinking transforms a positive experience into a valuable one.
Is it true that when you were first starting out in your job, it seemed like few people were prepared to give someone with no prior experience a chance? At the same time, did you come across persons who had been at their positions for twenty years yet were still doing badly on the job? If that’s the case, you’re probably annoyed.
“Experience is a treasure,” declared playwright William Shakespeare, “and it had to be so, for it is frequently acquired at an unlimited charge.” “Experience is a jewel,” he continued. However, experience alone does not increase the worth of a person’s life. It is not always the experience itself that is important; rather, it is the understanding gained as a result of the experience.
Reflective thinking is the process through which experience is transformed into insight.
“We should be cautious to extract from an event all of the knowledge that is contained within it—not like the cat who sits down on a hot stove top,” Mark Twain once remarked. That is good; but she will never sit down on a hot stove lid again—and that is also good; but she will also never sit down on a cold stove lid.”
16 It is only when an experience can enlighten or prepare us to tackle future challenges that it becomes worthwhile. This is made possible via the use of reflective thinking.
What is the best way to incorporate the lessons of reflective thinking into your life?
If you are like the majority of individuals in our society today, you probably don’t do much in the way of introspection. That being the case, it is possible that it is preventing you from moving forward more than you realize. Take the following advice to heart if you want to improve your capacity to think more critically:
1. Dedicate a period of time for introspection.
“The life that has not been investigated is not worth living,” said the Greek philosopher Socrates. Reflection and self-examination, on the other hand, are not natural behaviors for most individuals. A multitude of factors may make it an unpleasant activity for some people:
they have difficulty keeping concentrated, they find the process tedious, or they do not like spending a significant amount of time thinking about emotionally challenging matters, for example. However, if you do not set out time for it, it is doubtful that you will engage in any reflective thought.
2. Keep yourself away from potential distractions.
Reflection, like any other kind of thought, needs a period of seclusion. Distraction and introspection don’t go together like peanut butter and jelly. Not something that can be done in front of a television, while sitting in a cubicle, when the phone is ringing, or with children in the same room.
In order to achieve more and continue to develop personally, I’ve not only set aside time to think but have also distanced myself from distractions for brief periods of time: thirty minutes in the spa, an hour on a rock in my garden, or a few hours in a comfy office chair. It doesn’t matter where you are as long as you are away from potential distractions and disruptions throughout your session.
3. Examine your calendar or journal on a regular basis.
The majority of people use their calendar as a tool for planning, which is exactly what it is. However, only a small number of individuals utilize it as a tool for reflective thought. Is there anything that might be better for assisting you in reflecting on where you’ve been and what you’ve done, other than maybe a journal?
I’m not a traditional journaler in the traditional sense; I don’t utilize writing to figure out what I’m thinking and feeling about things. So I try to figure out what I’m thinking and feeling, after which I jot down the most important ideas and actions I’m thinking about. (I file the thoughts away so that I can swiftly get my hands on them when I need them.) ) I promptly put the action points into action or assign them to another person.)
Time management tools like calendars and notebooks let you keep track of how you’ve spent your time, determine if your activities are in line with your priorities, and determine whether you’ve made any progress. They also provide you with a chance to reflect on actions that you may not have had the opportunity to do earlier. Some of the most significant ideas you’ve ever had may have been lost because you didn’t allow yourself the necessary time for introspection and contemplation.
4. Inquire with the Correct Questions
The amount of benefit you get from reflecting will be determined by the kind of questions you ask yourself throughout the process. The higher the quality of the questions, the more gold you will be able to extract from your thoughts. When I reflect, I consider my own ideals, interpersonal connections, and life experiences. Here are some example questions to get you started:
Personal Development: Personal Development is a process of learning and growing. What have I learnt today that will assist me in my personal development? What are some ways I can put it into practice in my life? When
Should I put it into practice?
Making a Contribution: To whom did I make a contribution today? What evidence do I have that I provided value to that individual? Is it possible for me to follow up and build on the positive benefit he or she received?
Leadership:
Did I set a good example for others today? Did I raise the caliber of my employees and the overall performance of my organization? What exactly did I do, and how did I go about it?
Personal Belief:
Did I do a good job of representing God today? Is it true that I followed the Golden Rule? Have I ever “walked the second mile” with a friend or family member?
Marriage and Family:
Did I express my feelings of love to my spouse and children today? What actions did I take to demonstrate my affection? Did they get a sense of it? Did they give it back to you?
Inner Circle:
Have I spent enough time with the people who are important to me? What can I do to make it easier for them to be more successful? What areas of expertise can I provide them as a mentor?
Observations: What did I come across today that I need to reflect about for a longer period of time? Is there anything to be gained from this? Is there anything that needs to be done?
It is entirely up to you how you use your contemplation time. It’s possible that you’ll wish to modify my design to reflect your own ideals. Alternatively, you may use a strategy that my buddy Dick Biggs employs. On a piece of paper, he draws three columns as follows:
Impact of the Year-Turning Point
This approach is useful for taking a step back and looking at the broader picture. In Dick’s life, he utilized it to identify patterns, such as when he relocated to Atlanta and was pushed to write by a new instructor in the city. You might just as easily write the words “Event,” “Significance,” and “Action Point” on a piece of paper to aid you in reaping the benefits of reflective thought. The most important thing is to come up with questions that are appropriate for you and to jot down any major ideas that occur to you throughout your reflection time period.
5. Put Your Learning Into Action by Doing It
Although it is beneficial to write down the wonderful concepts that occur to you as a result of your reflective thinking, nothing is more effective in terms of helping you improve than putting your thoughts into action. You must be deliberate in order to do this. Whenever you read a good book, for example, there are usually some nice ideas to take away from it, some good phrases to remember, and some valuable lessons to learn from.
After I’m reading a book, I always make a note of the main points and then go back and reread them when I’m through. When I listen to a message, I make a note of the main points to remember so that I may go back to them later. When I attend a seminar, I make thorough notes and use a system of symbols to remind me to do specific things: for example, I take excellent notes and use a system of symbols to cue me to execute particular actions:
An arrow like this indicates that the content should be examined again.
In this case, an asterisk (*) next to a specified portion indicates that it should be filed under the topic mentioned.
A bracket like this [indicates that I wish to utilize the material that has been highlighted in a lecture or book.
An arrow like this indicates that if I put in the effort, this concept will take off.
When the majority of individuals attend a conference or seminar, they take pleasure in the event, pay attention to the speakers, and, in some cases, even take notes. After they get home, though, nothing occurs. Many of the notions they hear are appealing to them, but after they put their notes away, they don’t give them further thought.
When this occurs, individuals get nothing more than a brief burst of energy and drive. Following a conference, go over everything you heard again, think about it, and then put it into action; it might transform your life.
Ultimately, reflective thinking has three key benefits: it helps me gain perspective within a given situation; it enables me to stay connected with my path; and it offers guidance and direction for my future actions and decisions. It has proven to be an excellent instrument in my personal development. Reflective thinking is one of the few things in life that has the ability to help me grow and progress as much as it does.
