The Importance of Reflection

💭 Are you in the habit of taking time to reflect?

I do and so was interested to read the results the research below - conducted by Harvard Business Review.

Over 400 executives were asked to reflect on which experiences most advanced their professional development and had the greatest impact on making them better leaders.

Three themes came up multiple times:

1️⃣ Surprise - A Cognitive reaction to an unexpected response or outcome to something that we thought we could predict.

Humans tend to naively hypothesize about what will happen next based on what has already occurred and when this isn't the case, we’re surprised.

Mistakes, lapses in judgement and incorrect assumptions are all opportunities for reflection.

2️⃣ Failure - A Behavioral reaction.

Often, those things that surprise us lead to failures. We ALL make mistakes but if we don't stop and take stock, then we will never learn from them.

I’ve written here in the past about “failing forward” – very important for building resilience and maintaining or regaining optimism. If you are a leader, it is crucial to create this type of culture.

3️⃣ Frustration - An Emotional reaction.

Some frustrations are small and can be easily shrugged off. Others are more significant because at the root of frustration lies our goals, or the objects of our ambitions and efforts.

The best goals reflect our values and our higher purpose, which helps drive us to achieve them. It's entirely natural to be frustrated when those goals are thwarted.

Reflection helps us push through that frustration, to let that emotion go, and free us to find other ways to cope and carry on, ultimately resulting in growth.

I’ve also written in the past about the Letting Go technique (from the book, Physical Intelligence). That would be very helpful here.

I completely recommend the advice this HBR piece gives to set aside regular time to journal your feelings, particularly when you are surprised, frustrated or when you fail.

Most of the top performers I work with have scheduled time for reflection into their calendars. That’s not a coincidence – it’s a winning strategy.

Consciously pausing to interrogate how you are feeling in a particular moment is an effective way to process difficult feelings and experiences and then make improvements in both your professional and personal life.

Or as the authors of this piece put it:

"True courageous reflection galvanizes your willpower. It promotes continuous self-awareness, empowers you, ensures you are valued, and gives you the self-awareness you need to quicken achieving your potential."

When in your life has pausing for self-reflection helped you?

#selfreflection #selfawareness #growthmindset #journaling