Greetings!
Reflection (thought or consideration) during these past few weeks has helped me wrap my mind around final papers and presentations. I wake up at 5 a.m. and I go outside and I gaze into a palm tree and next thing you know, I’m thinking of how to organize my headings to our final paper and then I analyze my performance and ask myself if I’m doing enough to help my team.
When you google the word reflection, the word has many positive associations including critical thinking, or reflective thinking towards positive outcomes. Now, you can reflect while having coffee, going for a walk or simply sitting in a chair in the balcony of your apartment. The point is that you can envision the theory and your minds starts giving you choices, problem solving.
According to Behesti (2018) self-reflection and being honest with yourself every morning will improve our decision-making capabilities, help the way we communicate, and you will be more successful learning new material. This process can perhaps enhance your leadership qualities thus making you a person that can be counted on to produce desired results.
I think the key is being able to spend some time to yourself, cup of coffee and phone next to you to record any new insights (don’t forget). Ground yourself with gratitude, and then go for a walk for 30 minutes. Come back to your computer and you will notice you have a purpose and perhaps you finally understand SPSS in CMGT 540 or can finally complete the pieces to the puzzle for CMGT 502. Yes, you studied in these classes, but it was not until you were reflecting on the material that you felt you had your mind wrapped around it, right?
Now I also hear that going to sleep on it helps your mind go through a process called sleep consolidation and this means that while you’re sleeping, your mind is absorbing (memory) the material (Walker & Stickgold, 2004). But that’s a different topic for another day.
Don’t forget to get your thoughts in order (self-reflect) in the morning and make sure that you do get the proper sleep. In between, perhaps now you have a purpose for everything that you put your mind to.
Thank you for your time, always a pleasure!
Gabe Orozco
Walker, M. P., & Stickgold, R. (2004). Sleep-dependent learning and memory consolidation. Neuron, 44(1), 121-133.
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