Pauline Vigil
The Paw Print
Think about all the decisions you made today, this past week, this past month. How many times have you looked back on a recent decision and thought, “what if I had done things differently?”
Sometimes the best way to make better decisions in the future is to learn from the past. Looking back is a process referred to as the practice of reflection. People should look back to learn something, to gain a new perspective, or to understand something better. From an academic perspective it could be viewed as a process of evaluating and reevaluating. The areas open for reflection are varied. For example a person could reflect on how they study and organize their supplies.
A good thing to reflect on is what decisions have been made and why they were made in that particular fashion. Other possible areas for reflection include time management, or on interactions with others. A student could even reflect back on a particular lesson and connect it to a personal experience, to their future, or to something current that is happening in the world.
If you are going to spend time reflecting try to really make it worthwhile. You will know it was time well spent if you were honest with yourself and it brought some self-awareness. Learning more about yourself and how you perceive the world is always beneficial; during this time, be aware of cultural, political, or religious ideas that might influence you. Also, if you did some serious thinking and questioning then you know it was time well spent.
Often when a person is in a class room, office, or a busy social setting it is hard to focus on just one thing and really let it sink in. However, if you reflect on it later you can just concentrate on one area and ask yourself how you feel about that specific thing and why you feel that way. You can try to see things from another person’s perspective and ask why the other person may feel that way. When asking what type of person might do a specific act, it could bring about a whole new way of viewing the world, a new paradigm. A great way to remember more details, and record those thoughts for later reflection is to write them down. Journaling is a powerful tool of reflection. Often if a person just writes what they feel and think, without worrying about grammar or punctuation it can be very freeing. Even if it is as simple as making a list of things you noticed, a list of things that went right or wrong, or even a list of important things you want to remember. Artistic people could make a drawing to reflect back on and express how they feel about an event, issue, or idea.
As with all new things practice makes perfect. The more you practice the better you will get at reflecting. To make the art of reflecting a continual habit, try doing at least once a week for a month.
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