Reflection: O, happy the soul that sees its own faults by Marc LeVine

"Reflective thinking turns experience into insight."

- John C. Maxwell.

It’s a brand-new year and most of us are just returning to work for the very first time in 2023.?Regardless of your current workspace, it is reasonably certain that not much has changed since you “hung up your cleats” late last week and headed out for some holiday cheer.?For most of us, a simple flip of the calendar is all it took to get current again.?For others, it was that familiar “hit the ground running” mentality that usually comes to us twice each year after New Year’s Day and Labor Day. ?

Did you spend any time on reflection over the holidays??Perhaps, not.?Isn’t it odd that it has been drilled into us to review each of our past actions and learn from them, as we go along, yet we rarely spend enough quality time assessing our more comprehensive bodies of work??We are often like those football wide receivers, who drop their passes because they are already looking up field before they catch and secure the football. They took their eyes off the ball and hopefully learned they shouldn’t do that while trying to make a reception. ?We are all at our best when we are the most attentive within our surroundings.

It is likely you had a year-end employee performance review and already know where you stand with your boss. ?Can you reliably say that all things important to you in your private life and career were considered and covered during that review? ?Likely, not. ?Because there is more to living than what occurs during our work hours and effects BOTH our work and daily lives.

When we fail to reflect on the “bigger picture” of our lives, we are left with a pile of choppy, disjointed and limited “vignettes” that don’t always correlate well, present a complete picture of ourselves and add up to the total sum of past successes and failures. ?Looking at our actions, piecemeal, often fails to reveal behavioral patterns of concern and expose latent vulnerabilities. It is akin to reading a book out of order by skipping around chapters. You only get a mild sense of what is happening within the storyline but never progress through cause-and-effect circumstances in a meaningful way.?That is WHY they call it a storyLINE. To accurately read into the plot of a book or film we must do so in linear fashion. ?What happened and why??What happened, next??Did whatever happen next have anything to do with what happened prior??OVERALL - What was learned from the interrelationships among past and present events that may impact future ones?

Steps to take for serious reflection

1.?????Schedule adequate time for serious reflection.?Remember that you are reflecting on a larger period – a year, give or take. ?That time may be comprised of numerous situations and events that can either stand-alone or be integrated with other events to paint a more detailed picture. It takes time to gather one’s recollections and apply thought to them. Take the necessary time to produce a detailed and comprehensive introspection of past events.

2.?????Find a quiet place to reflect.?Quiet places exist in real life and in the mind, as well. ?Choose a quiet room at home and imagine the most perfect calm scene you can. ?From the seat of your favorite recliner in dead of winter, you can envision yourself on a warm?and sandy beach in the Florida Keys, if you wish. The relaxation you feel will open your mind to remembering and processing recent and past events.

3.?????Take detailed notes of your recollections.?It is a lot to remember, and emerging thoughts and memories can quickly fade if not noted quickly. ?In fact, why not consider maintaining a journal to easily record events throughout the year offering details regarding mistakes made and the lessons learned from them.

4.?????Walk through all your successes and failures looking to spot patterns and opportunities to learn. ?Here is where other soft skills such as detail orientation, critical thinking, and problem-solving may factor into helping create useful self-feedback that can be applied later.

5.?????Commit to learning through reflection. ?You’ve done the good work bringing out and analyzing your moments to reflect on. ?Now you must prove to yourself and to others that you have completed a valuable exercise. ?You have learned things from past situation you should be able to apply - as knowledge - where it can be most useful.

It is not too late to schedule some time to remember, reflect and further improve yourself.

Are you an automation engineer looking for a job in the New Year?Visit:?www.thermosystems.com/careers

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The Author

Listen to Marc's latest interview on The AutomationBlog Podcast with Shawn Tierney.

Marc LeVine is a graduate of Syracuse (NY) University with a degree in Industrial Psychology, Marc is currently Talent Acquisitions and Learning and Development Lead at Thermo Systems. He is the recipient of the Excellence in Talent Acquisitions Award from HR Awards in 2021. His prior employment includes senior Human Resources and Staffing Industry management roles with Edgewood Properties in Piscataway, NJ, Brickforce Staffing in Edison, NJ, InfoPro Inc. in Woodbridge NJ and Plainsboro, NJ and Harvard Industries in Farmingdale, NJ, a former Fortune 500 company. He also served as Director of Human Resources for New Jersey Press, the parent company of the Asbury Park Press, Home News and Tribune and WKXW-NJ101.5. Earlier in his career, Marc served as Director of Career Services and Placement at Union Technical Institute in Eatontown and Neptune, NJ. In addition, Marc owned and operated Integrity Consulting Associates, a New Jersey based Human Resources and Social Media Marketing firm for 11 years. Marc also served as Council President in his hometown of Freehold Borough, NJ