Intro: We're coming up on the end of spring semester here in sunny Tucson and that means it's time to begin sticking forks in things. Whether we're ready or not, for many of us--students, especially--a new phase of life is about to begin. That's both exciting and scary. And you may be thinking, "Well, I'm done with X" or "I'll never have to do Y again" and on the surface that may be true. One thing that's assuredly *not* true is that you won't need to keep improving. There are lots of ways to improve, of course, but one of the most effective (if most nerve-wracking) is critical self-reflection. So today, let's get critical. --- Okay, not just critical. SELF-critical. Self-reflective. This is all about looking at what you've accomplished (or, let's be frank: didn't) and figuring out just how to do it better. How to BE better. How not to let those doubts and that guilt eat away at you slowly with the dull, underlying anxiety that you've disappointed someone you respect... No? Just me? Okay. I'm kidding. Today's episode is not about pointing out where you've failed but discussing some ways in which you can move past that and, again, doing and being better. So, generally speaking, why is self-reflection good? To quote the Open University, "Reflecting helps you to develop your skills and review their effectiveness, rather than just carry on doing things as you have always done them. It is about questioning, in a positive way, what you do and why you do it and then deciding whether there is a better, or more efficient, way of doing it in the future." Nobody likes wasting time on inefficiency, after all, right? Essentially, self-reflection, if practiced faithfully and honestly, can serve to a) make you a better, leveled-up person, and b) help build resilliance and quote-unquote "grit" to better help you deal with setbacks later. And, hooboy, don't we all need that? One place where self-reflection is associated with success is leadership. Jennifer Porter has some thoughts on it in her Harvard Business Review article from 2017. Quote, "At its simplest, reflection is about careful thought. But the kind of reflection that is really valuable to leaders is more nuanced than that. The most useful reflection involves the conscious consideration and analysis of beliefs and actions for the purpose of learning. Reflection gives the brain an opportunity to pause amidst the chaos, untangle and sort through observations and experiences, consider multiple possible interpretations, and create meaning. This meaning becomes learning, which can then inform future mindsets and actions. For leaders, this “meaning making” is crucial to their ongoing growth and development." She goes on to cite research that found call center employees that reflect for 15 minutes at the end of the day performed 23% better than those that didn't. (Link to the source and everything in the shownotes.) So if we know this is good for us, why don't we do it? She goes on to identify five big reasons that extend well beyond leadership. I can say I'm guilty of two of these. First, they don't understand the process. Remember: self-reflection isn't something that necessarily comes naturally. It's a skill you have to learn and hone. Second, they don't *like* the process. It's hard! It's uncomfortable! Who likes thinking about how they messed up or let someone down, after all? Third, they don't like the results. Again, staring your perceived failures in the face can have a backfire effect and begin thinking it's not actually anything *they* did, but their work must've been received or understood incorrectly. Fourth, they have a bias towards action. Sometimes doing something feels better than doing nothing, even if staying the course is actually the best thing, ultimately. And finally, they don't see the value. So, what, you write it down in a journal and you've had to think for 15 minutes about how badly you performed. Then you put the journal away. What's the point? Obviously all these concerns are more excuses than reasons for not engaging in self-reflection. All right, so we know *why* we should do this, generally speaking. How about some specific examples or tools to help you get the thing done? Anybody? Bueller? Okay, I'll start: first, I'm really bad at this. I want to improve. On the rare occasion that I do it really well, it's tended to be because of a systematic routine. Heck, turns out this little podcasty thing is part self-reflection, which is handy. One specific tool I liked but eventually let the habit fall away is the Self Journal. You can purchase a bound version of the Self journal or just download the pages in PDF form on their website and DIY it. There's even an Academic version for students which I tried to massage into something useful for me as a professor but found I was making the reforming of the journal more the point than actually using it, which is unfortunate but totally my fault. Basically, it's a daily/weekly/monthly tracker and journal with specific prompts for you to methodically keep track of your goals and status. I really like it. Just couldn't keep up with it. The other one I tend to move in and out of I've talked about on the pod before: 750words.com as daily planning and reflection among other things. Links to both the Self journal and the 750words website in the shownotes. So what about other people? I asked the interwebs what THEY do and I got some great responses. Friend and fellow Squad member Jess Knott turned me on to the SailBoat exercise. Essentially (and illustration of this in the shownotes), self-reflection is like a drawing of a sailboat in the water. The wind behind you is what helps you reach your goals, the anchor under the water is what's holding you back, the jagged rocks are the risks you need to avoid, and the shore is the goal. Identify those things and, hey presto, there's your self-reflection. Plus, you get to draw a boat! Rolando Mendez asks the questions, "How can I improve this? How can I make it better? How do others perceive my work? How could others approach what I do?" And Margy Thomas said something very similar as more of an epistemic exercise: "When I have a question I wish I could get advice/guidance on from specific experts I don't have access to, I free-write what I imagine each one of them would say to me. (This works if you've read/heard enough about their work.) It's amazing what inner wisdom can come out this way." Autumm (with two Ms) Caines and Terry Greene both go with blogging as a means of self-reflection regardless of how popular the platform may be. And I say hoorah to that: do what works for you regardless of convention. Tina Rettler-Pagel, whom you should remember from the previous OLC Innovate episode, likes to use daily motivators as the scaffold for reflection, saying, "I have found I often get a message I am most meant to hear at the time...which is likely my own self telling me it is time to deal with something or I am finally ready to deal with it. Who knows...in any case, it forces me (in a good way) to reflect, meditate, and oftentimes finally act on something that is long overdue." Great advice, all of it. The hardest part about all this? Facing your perceived failures. But self-reflection isn't only useful to look back and see where you messed up. In my opinion, it's actually *more* useful for looking at what you did really well and identifying ways to take that magic and apply it to other areas where it needs a bit more love. This is really a solo venture: everything we've talked about today works in broad strokes. They're either general enough to apply to the average person or specific enough that they work for one person and *might* work for you, too. So you have to work out your own methodology for this stuff. Trial and error. Self-reflect on your self-reflection. Enjoy the tumble down the rabbit hole. And remember: being aware of areas of improvement and being honest about them makes you much, much better at what you do. Now, truly believing that you deserve to do what you're doing... that's another show. --- Outro Once again, thank you for listening to this little podcast-thing of mine. If you found it entertaining or informative or useful, please do subscribe and rate it on the podcatcher of your choice, whether that's iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, Spotify, or however you listen. And, as usual, I'd love to hear from you. You can find me on Twitter at newprofcast. Show notes, transcripts, and more can be found on the website at thenewprofessor.com. Until next time.