Navigating crisis, challenge, and change (part 4): Reflection is the key to learning

By?Ali Shalfrooshan, Head of International Assessment R&D

In my fourth blog about navigating crisis, challenge, and change (read the first one?here, the second here, and the third here), the focus is how we can enhance our resilience by reflecting on our experiences. I will discuss how we can use the power of self-reflection as a conduit for growth and learning.

Why is reflection important?

Our experiences are the building blocks for who we are and how we grow. As discussed in greater detail in my earlier blog, failure is not something we should avoid, but rather to inspire learning. However, the question remains: How do we effectively learn from these experiences, be it positive or negative?

Reflection plays a significant, indeed central role in a range of activities related to self-improvement. Its importance has been implicit dating back to the earliest writings in both the psychological and philosophical disciplines, with the Socratic method of questioning being the basis of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.

In our always-on, tech-enabled world, we are bombarded with information from our environment, people, and technology. Consequently, having the time available to reflect is a privilege, as we are typically rushing through life, multitasking and focusing on what needs to be done next.

How often do you constructively reflect on your experiences? While it may be difficult to carve out this time, it can be the driver of growth. There are three psychological models that are particularly helpful in highlighting the importance of reflection and how it can be used to convert challenges, setbacks, or changes we experience into learning.

Three ways to embed reflection

Model one: System 1 vs. system 2 thinking

When we are busy or dealing with challenges, we sometimes get lost in what Daniel Kahneman terms as "system 1 thinking" – our more automatic, unconscious type of thinking. This type of thinking can lead us to believe that environments and events directly impact the way we feel rather than acknowledging our involvement in the process.

A foundation of reflection teaches us to appreciate?that our feelings and thoughts are not caused by these events, but by our interpretation of them. Therefore, we need to appreciate that whatever we feel is overlaid by our conscious and unconscious reactions, which are not always as objective as we like to believe.

When reflecting, we need to use what Kahneman would term as our system 2 thinking – our more conscious, deliberate thinking style. When experiencing challenges, it is not always easy to deploy this type of thinking, as automatic and action-oriented behavior is typically more useful in those situations. In order to learn from these challenges, it’s important to make time after you experience them to evaluate them and better test any assumptions. ?

Model two: The ABCs of experience

Albert Ellis developed a cognitive approach called Rational Emotive Therapy which has been successful in helping people dispute their irrational beliefs that can lead them to feel depressed. Ellis argues that we can create personal stress by consciously or unconsciously holding these irrational beliefs about ourselves, other people, and the world.

Despite the model being used predominantly for in-depth therapeutic treatment, it can also be helpful when reviewing our experiences as it makes explicit our inner voice and its impact on how we feel. The model breaks down our reaction to external events into three broad steps: Adversity, Belief, and Consequences.

• Adversities are events that precipitate a reaction. They can be big – like losing a job, ending a relationship, or the death of a loved one, or they can be relatively small – like missing a deadline, arguing with a friend, or being late for a meeting.
• Beliefs are the thoughts we have and the way in which we interpret the event. They drive how we feel and what we do.
• Consequences are the product of the event and the beliefs we hold about it. They are the way we feel and what we do in the moment of adversity or challenge.

The ABC model may not be as easily deployed without facilitation, but it highlights the importance of reviewing our experiences objectively. The reflection we do can uncover deeper insights into what beliefs may be impacting our behavior and whether we hold any that are limiting us. ??

Model three: The learning cycle

David Kolb as well as Peter Honey and Alan Mumford have long discussed the value of different learning styles and the power of experiential learning. Kolb’s experiential learning cycle refers to the process by which individuals, teams, and organizations attend to and understand experiences, and consequently modify their behaviors.

The Learning Cycle is based on the idea that the more often we reflect on a task, the more often we have the opportunity to modify and refine our efforts. The experiential learning cycle is a four-step learning process that is applied multiple times in every interaction: Experience, Reflect, Think, and Act.

It’s a learning process initiated by a concrete experience, which demands:

1. A concrete experience that initiates this learning process
2. Reflection, review, and perspective about the experience
3. Abstract thinking to reach conclusions and conceptualize the meaning of the experience
4. A decision to act by engaging in active experimentation, or trying out what you’ve learned

Takeaways to improve self-reflection

So how can we use these theories practically to enhance our resilience?

• Recognize the need to reflect after you have experienced any challenge, setback, or change. Ensure it is soon after the event so that you can review the experience in detail. However, also ensure enough time has passed so you can think it through clearly. Try your best to overcome any assumptions or automatic thinking.
• Ensure you appreciate that the consequences of adversity are influenced by your beliefs. So, use the time to reflect and understand these beliefs more clearly and determine whether they are helping you.
• When reviewing experiences consider what happened, what worked well, and what you could have done differently. Try to put anything that you learn into action and see what the impact is. Ensure that this is a cyclical process, so you can modify your behavior and improve your ability to navigate challenges in the future as well.