“Reflection is making sense of experiences in relation to the self, others, and contextual conditions. More importantly, it is reimagining and/or planning future experience for personal and social benefit” (Ovens & Tinning, 2009).

Goals of Reflection:

• To foster continuous improvement
• To instill a growth mindset of oneself
• To plan purposefully
• To reach the critical level for deep learning
• To see oneself as an agent of change

Reflection is effective when it is:

• Relevant: focusing on an event or process that allows actionable results over instances that you have no control over.
• Slowed down: pacing out thinking so as not to rush through, ignoring important details
• Timely: set aside time to think about events of the recent past
  • Job Interview
  • Results from a test
  • Conversation with a colleague or friend
• Targeted: sticking to the moment of reflection without over-analysis, which can cause paralysis in thinking.

• Unbiased: taking multiple perspectives to the reflective moment helps in understanding different viewpoints.

Below are some resources to help you learn more about the competency of reflection:

Articles

Why Self-Improvement Begins with Self-Reflection (LinkedIn)

How to Practice Self-Reflection at Work (Medium)

Why You Should Make Time for Self-Reflection (Even If You Hate Doing It) (Harvard Business Review)

TED Talk