“Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful.” Margaret Wheatley
As a high school science teacher (between 2005-2016) I would often ask students to reflect on an experiment performed in class.
I would get responses like-
“It was good.”
“It went well.”
“I liked it.”
Very superficial responses with very little thought put into the why.
I quickly realised that I was the problem. I needed to teach them how to reflect. It wasn’t until I was guiding the reflection that it actually began to have any meaning- What did you learn? What worked well? What didn’t work well? What would you do differently next time? How did you work together as a team with your partner?
I was often met with resistance, but it was the kids that took this part if the task seriously that would benefit and improve.
This taught me that as humans we are inherently not that great at reflecting. We are so great at looking ahead and goal setting, but we tend to forget this crucial step that comes before goal setting- REFLECTION!
Reflecting involves looking back and learning from what we’ve done, celebrating the wins and using these reflections to help power us forward.
I don’t mean kicking up your heals with a G&T and reminiscing (although this does serve a purpose at times too!).
What I mean is- taking a moment to pause and think-
What have I done well in 2023?
What have been my wins?
What are my takeaways from this year?
Wanting to set new goals and dreaming up the next step before you’ve reflected and celebrated the last one will lead to burn out & demotivation.
I’m here to remind you to acknowledge your wins and celebrate your progress.
Celebrating your wins feels good AND it’s a key skill needed for achieving your next goal.
Research shows that celebrating wins gives your brain a hit of dopamine. Dopamine is linked with motivation. Motivation helps builds momentum to keep going. So…
Don’t listen to that part of your brain that maybe telling you there’s nothing to celebrate!
So take a moment and think. Not for anyone else, but for YOU. Grab a pen and paper and write it down. Better yet, send me an email if you’d like to share! I’m all ears and would LOVE to hear about your wins.
