Lead From Within: Reflection
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” Ferris Bueller
In the first post of this series we talked about Tinkering as a means of self-discovery. You can find the full Lead From Within library here.
Now we shift into Reflection, which I personally see as a means of both crystalizing what I’ve learned through the Tinkering process and opening myself up to new questions and ideas that may appear.
My two go-to methods for real reflection, as you’ll see reflected in the materials below, are journaling and meditation.
Both practices have ebbed and flowed over the past three years, but when I come back to them consistently I find that I am able to ask myself real questions (on the pages) and eventually find moments of insight and understanding (on the pillow, and in day-to-day life). It works for me.
This substack started out as an outlet for insights found in those pages.
My call to action for you, if you’re on the fence with either, is just try. They are called practices, not perfects, for a reason.
Journaling - easy, all you need are pages and a pen
Meditation - Headspace/Calm for beginners, Waking Up if you are looking for a new way of approaching your existing practice
More ideas below.
In the next post we’ll cover Inspiration (finding ways of inducing awe, inspiration, and a heightened sense of flow and engagement).
Thanks for reading,
Paul
Move forward. Stay in the game
Reflection - Give Yourself Space to Grow
“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection, will come even more effective action.” Peter Drucker
Research by Giada Di Stefano, Francesca Gino, Gary Pisano, and Bradley Staats in call centers demonstrated that employees who spent 15 minutes at the end of the day reflecting about lessons learned performed 23% better after 10 days than those who did not reflect. - HBR, Why You Should Make Time for Self-Reflection (Even If You Hate Doing It)
Objectives
Introduce the idea of Give Yourself Space to Grow, and how journaling, meditating, prayer, and other forms of quiet reflection are beneficial in both expanding our perception of what’s possible and solidifying our progress.
Discuss the means of reflection that work best for the Coachee.
Co-Create a plan for building time for reflection into the Coachee’s day.
Key Questions
When do you spend time proactively thinking about or reflecting on yourself and your accomplishments? How often?
What are some of the reasons you don’t spend [more] time in self-reflection?
What self-reflection practices have worked best for you in the past, and which have historically been less effective? Why do you think that is?
If you could outline your ideal self-reflection framework, what would that look like? What are the obstacles standing in your way? What are some ideas you may have to get around those obstacles?
Stretch Assignments
At-home journaling exercise:
Block off the last 30 minutes of the day on your calendar, and with your journal, reflect on how the day went. What are you most proud of? Where do you believe your impact could have been greater? What was holding you back from putting forth your best effort, and why?
At-home meditation:
Download a free trial of Headspace or Calm, and for the next week, spend just 5 minutes quietly in a guided meditation, either before you start your day, or anytime throughout the day or evening. (free 10 min on YouTube)