Reframing Reflection for Action-oriented Doers

STOP.

Right now.

And breathe.

Close your eyes.

Think back over the last hour.

How have you been? What have you done? What were your intentions? What was your impact? What might this mean for you? What might you do differently if you had the time again?

If you had asked me 5 years ago to do something like this, I’m not sure I would have coped. I would definitely have been challenged even by the word “stop”. As an ‘A-type’ personality, or ‘action-oriented doer’, I prioritised action over reflection. In workshops, I enjoyed the debate between the ‘Doers’ and the ‘Reflectors’ – both thinking their own style was the right one. (While you’re not meant to have favourites, of course I agreed with the ‘Doers’!).

Then Covid hit. And it was a little like pushing the Jack-in-the-box back in the box. I, along with the rest of the world, got forced to stop. And after a lot of Zoom calls, finding every chance to connect with others, there were hours of nothing. Time to stop.

Now, I get it. I get the power of reflecting – or as Janet Sernack from the innovation company, ImagineNation calls it: ‘pause-power’. She goes onto say:

Self-reflection and reflective practice become potent tools, enabling people to move away from reactivity and short-term focus and towards taking the transformative actions to adapt, create, invent, and innovate. 

So, as a recovering A-type personality, and as a coach who now lives and believes in reflection – here are my 5 good reasons to make time to reflect (in a way that makes sense for a Doer):

Reflection is purposeful: Reflection is not just sitting on a rock, closing your eyes and hoping for the answers to come. It is purposefully making time to consider a situation, ask empowering questions to see the situation from different perspectives, more objectively, sometimes more creatively, to learn and grow.

Reflection is active: Reflection is an active process that engages curiosity and an open mind. Sometimes, for a Doer, it can be difficult to sit and reflect – reflection can happen when you are engaging your body as well – mowing the lawn, swimming, going for a run. With a question in mind to begin, moving, while reflecting, can be a very powerful thing.

Reflection saves time: The state of busy-ness and constantly doing can sometimes distract us from the impact we are having on ourselves and on others. Taking time to consider our actions, reflect on what we are doing, and how we are doing it, can help reduce friction with others, and stress for ourselves – which saves a lot of time and wasted energy!

Reflection helps you gain control: Constantly running and doing can be exhilarating – and also exhausting. Taking stock, using time to reflect on what we are actually doing, can help us regain a sense of control of our world.

Reflection is about getting better: When we are constantly running, taking action and doing, we can sometimes make mistakes. Sadly, we can’t wave a magic wand and go back and do something better – and we don’t want to waste time beating ourselves up. What we can do is learn through reflection. We can reflect on a situation and ask questions to consider different perspectives, so we do better next time.

NOTE: Reflection vs ruminating: ruminating is getting stuck in negative thoughts – overthinking, imagining the worst, like a needle stuck in a record, playing the same thing over and over, catastrophising. Reflection is being able to look at a situation and ask empowering questions – what worked, what didn’t, what can I learn from this – it helps you to move forward through learning from the past.

Reflection can be greatly helped by using the CCS Cards. For Doers – they are tactile, you are active in your reflection and they help expand your thinking. Here’s an approach:

1. Have a scenario in mind. Go through your CCS Cards, and find some cards that describe the situation for you.
2. Expand your thinking by taking time to write what each of the cards means for you. If you have the CCS stickers, you can use these to then write next to them. Write in whatever form suits you – prose or dot points. Don’t edit yourself.
3. Further reflection: What might this mean for you now? What is another question that arises for you? If you had been at your best, what might the outcome have been? What have you learned about yourself from this?

Reflection is sometimes better when done together! If you would like to join a small group in a guided reflection, we would love you to join us to Unwrap your year in motion

And if you have been able to read this whole blog – well done! You might also like Balancing aspirations and the need for rest by Dr Cathryn Lloyd.