The Art Of Looking Back: A Critical Reflection For Individual Contributors<\/h1>\nKristian Mikhel<\/address>\n 2023-07-21T12:00:00+00:00
\n 2023-07-23T03:34:38+00:00
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Have you ever looked back at your younger self and wondered, \u201cWhat was I even thinking?\u201d If you have, then you know how important it is to acknowledge change, appreciate growth, and learn from your mistakes.<\/p>\n
S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard, the first existentialist philosopher, famously wrote:<\/p>\n
\u201cLife can only be understood by looking backward, but it must be lived forwards.\u201d
— S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nBy looking back at our past selves, we compare them not only to who we are today but to who we want to be tomorrow.<\/p>\n
This process is called reflection<\/em>.<\/p>\nCritical reflection is the craft<\/a> of \u201cbringing unconscious aspects of experience to conscious awareness, thereby making them available for conscious choice.\u201d At its core, reflection focuses on challenging your takeaways from practical experiences<\/strong>, nudging you to explore better ways of achieving your goals.<\/p>\nLearning and growth are impossible without reflection. In the 1970s, David Kolb, an educational theorist, developed the \u201cCycle of Learning<\/a>\u201d, comprising four stages: Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimentation.<\/p>\nAccording to Kolb, each new experience yields learning when all of its aspects are analyzed, assessed, and challenged — in theory (through reflection and conceptualization) and in practice (through experimentation). In turn, new learning informs new experiences, therefore completing the circle: act, analyze, challenge, plan, repeat.<\/p>\n
\n 2023-07-23T03:34:38+00:00
\n <\/header>\n
\u201cLife can only be understood by looking backward, but it must be lived forwards.\u201d By looking back at our past selves, we compare them not only to who we are today but to who we want to be tomorrow.<\/p>\n This process is called reflection<\/em>.<\/p>\n Critical reflection is the craft<\/a> of \u201cbringing unconscious aspects of experience to conscious awareness, thereby making them available for conscious choice.\u201d At its core, reflection focuses on challenging your takeaways from practical experiences<\/strong>, nudging you to explore better ways of achieving your goals.<\/p>\n Learning and growth are impossible without reflection. In the 1970s, David Kolb, an educational theorist, developed the \u201cCycle of Learning<\/a>\u201d, comprising four stages: Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimentation.<\/p>\n According to Kolb, each new experience yields learning when all of its aspects are analyzed, assessed, and challenged — in theory (through reflection and conceptualization) and in practice (through experimentation). In turn, new learning informs new experiences, therefore completing the circle: act, analyze, challenge, plan, repeat.<\/p>\n
— S\u00f8ren Kierkegaard<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n