2024 Word of the Year: Reflection
The word of the year is reflection.
““Someone needs to write a book on what to ignore and what to actually pay attention to.””
I heard this statement, and it made me pause. I created space for pondering by literally pausing the podcast. Upon review, I concluded that I agree with Robert Greene but with a crucial clarification.
What is the Crucial Element in determining if content is work paying attention too?
In our world full of content, it can be hard to determine what is worth paying attention to. Robert was correct; an idiot’s guide to what is valuable could be a good first step, but what he didn’t mention is the impact an individual’s unique experiences has on what he/she would find worth paying attention to.
A single book on what to pay attention to would be as useless to most people as having access to the internet full of things is proving to be for society at large.
Before determining value or taking action based on anything, wisdom is found in evaluating it through the filters of your unique life. I find three filters to be helpful.
First Evaluate where you are today and how you got here
What are my formative past experiences?
How might those experiences be impacting how I experience the world today?
What aspects of my current life do I find value in, and which ones do I want to be different?
Then Evaluate what you want your future to be like
What do I want my future life to look like?
Why is making a change important to me?
Why/How do I think “X” will help me reach my desired future life?
Finally Evaluate what adjustments you need to make to get your desired future life
How can I implement “X” to get me closer to my desired future life?
Did “X” help me get closer to my desired future, or do I need to make additional adjustments?
What do I need to do more/different/better next time to improve even more?
Living a life of discernment requires consistently evaluating new information to determine the best path forward for you.
The reason you don’t reflect is specific to you, but evaluate if maybe you
Lost your desire to reflect
Forgot the importance of thinking before acting
Got comfortable with letting others (people, companies, machines) dictate your path forward
Eliminated to many hurdles and it is too easy to take action
Never learned about the value of reflection
I encourage you to consider normalizing reflection in your life
Want to get better outcomes more consistently? Get better at more consistent reflection. Reflection only requires two actions.
First press pause
Second, evaluate the situation/thing/person/content by asking yourself questions similar to the ones presented earlier or attached here.
Also, consider that reflection post-action is important because it is a review of what actually happened, not what we intended/predicted might happen.
You should have a plan before you act, but plans don’t always work out as intended or lead to the desired outcomes. Reflection after the fact allows you to make adjustments based on what actually happened, not on what you hoped would occur.
Conclusion
In this world, it has become easier to
Move between habits to fit your mood
Consume content in a format that suits your preferences
Connect with people in environments (real or virtual) that make you most comfortable
Share your opinions broadly, either proudly or anonymously
But with this ease, we have lost the art of reflecting on whether “X” is worth the personal investment.
We spend very little time thinking through our actions before we take them, and we spend even less time reflecting on our actions after we take them. We just keep moving, rarely (if ever) evaluating if we are moving forward, backward, or just in place.
The ease of doing things has made you faster at consuming and taking action, but the speed and ease have made you worse at evaluating the alternatives.
Don’t start off 2024 by jumping into something new without first doing some personal reflection.
Let reflection lead you towards acts that are specifically valuable to you, driving you toward the future you desire.
Bonus: Great news when practicing reflection; there are no failures, only lessons learned. So, if you avoid reflection because you fear acknowledging your failures, you can stop avoiding reflection for this reason.
It’s actually a success if your reflection leads to you stopping a current adjustment if it isn’t going to lead you where you really want to go. (even if it’s stopping your 2024 resolution)
Reflection will lead to you successfully pivoting towards a more intentional pursuit, which is a huge win.