Self Reflection
What is there to learn here?
Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one's actions so as to engage in a process of continuous learning. According to one definition it involves "paying critical attention to the practical values and which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively.” Bolton, Gillie (2010) [2001].
What's the value?
Reflection can be a very useful tool in learning as it allows you to recognise your own strengths and weaknesses, and use this to guide on-going learning. By reflecting you develop skills in self-directed learning, improve motivation and the quality of your life in countless ways.
There are a number of documented and evidenced based benefits of self-reflection including: strengthening emotional intelligence through increasing self-awareness - which is a key component of emotional intelligence; acting with integrity as becoming clear on your core values will help to strengthen your integrity and lead you to better decisions; and will support you in developing a better understanding of others.
Reflective practice can also help you to develop creative thinking skills and encourages active engagement in life’s processes.
By taking the time to ask yourself the important questions, you gain a better understanding of your emotions, strengths, weaknesses and driving factors.
Self-awareness is important because when we have a better understanding of ourselves, we are able to experience ourselves as unique and separate individuals. We are then empowered to make changes and to build on our areas of strength as well as identify areas where we would like to make improvements.
Reflective practice makes meaning from experience and transforms insights into practical strategies for personal growth and future impact.
An easy 3-step process
1) Reflect on your experience. Think about what you did, thought, and felt at the time.
2) Reflect on your learning. Analyse your experience and compare to the models or principles that you want to follow. What are you going to do differently?
3) Apply your learning to your life.
You can use reflective writing to do this. Write down your response to experiences, opinions, events or new information and your response to thoughts and feelings. This creates a new way of exploring your learning which gives you an opportunity to gain self-knowledge and a way to achieve clarity and better understanding of what you are learning.
Particularly in the field of psychotherapy and in conjunction with personality tests, questions of reflection are constantly being developed. These can and should also be used outside of psychoanalysis in everyday life and fully support self-reflection.
See the following examples of some question structures which have been subdivided into questions concerning what one wants, self-doubt and dissatisfaction.
What to ask?
Reflection can be a very useful tool in learning as it allows you to recognise your own strengths and weakness and use this to guide on-going learning. By reflecting you develop skills in self-directed learning, improve motivation, and improve the quality of your life in countless ways.
Regarding the question as to what one wants:
What do I really want?
What really makes me happy?
Do I take my passions seriously enough?
What does success mean to me?
What job would I give myself?
What do I want to change, improve in my life?
Why is this goal so important to me?
What would I have to do without for that? Could I do that?
Regarding existing and recurring self-doubt:
Suppose I could start over, what would I do differently?
For which values do I want to stand?
What should I do to achieve my goal?
Do I believe that I will achieve this goal? What do I really want?
What really makes me happy?
Do I take my passions seriously enough?
What does success mean to me?
What job would I give myself?
What do I want to change, improve in my life?
Why is this goal so important to me?
What would I have to do without for that? Could I do that?
If not, why do I trust my doubt more than my first impulse?
In cases of constant or frequent dissatisfaction in life:
How much time do I invest daily in myself and my development?
How much success do I need personally?
Can what I am doing today still inspire me in five years' time?
What would I give up in order to have more time for myself?
If I had the job I was aiming for in my dream business, would I be satisfied?
What could I do to make me feel happier?
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