Active Reflection

Hind Sight

My goodness time goes by so fast! This week has flown by and that is both good and bad. As always, crazy busy and productive. One thing that struck a chord with me this week and is usually in the back of my mind all the time is active reflection. It is easy to get caught up in day to day life and often lose sight of the bigger picture. I am sometimes so busy that I need to remind myself why I'm putting myself through all of this! We all know that hind sight is 20/20, if only we knew then what we know now, and so on. Unfortunately, this saying is cliché for a reason… It's true! What I use to combat this is active reflection, basically a way to think about the future in a reasonable way to shape the decisions you make today.

Regret

We have all, at one time or another, made bad decisions (or a series of them). I personally have a laundry list of poor decisions from my past. I have accepted these decisions and used them to shape the person I am today. Reflection is normally used to describe contemplation of the past. Active is used as a synonym of the present or currently engaging. So I am currently thinking from the perspective of how I'll view these decisions in the future. When I reflect back to the decision I made at 22 to go back to college after dropping out at 18, I knew I would look back 10 years later and be happy with that decision, and I am.

The Future

It sounds simple, right? I go to school in order to become more knowledgeable and grow personally and professionally. But this can be a hard thing to remember when I am sitting inside on a beautiful weekend doing homework (like right now). I know, through active reflection, that my goal to graduate next year from Walsh will be accomplished by what I do today. So what about the goals we have with less concrete boundaries? The decisions we make everyday make up who we are. I have many goals and aspirations, setting aside time to ensure my peace of mind through meditation, yoga, or other means is very important. Being aware is also very important to me. What do you do to ensure you stay on the course you set for yourself? Have you ever had to take a step back and create a new path? Check out the blog below, for some true inspiration and thought provoking posts. Enjoy!

"There are only two ways to advance your life: move forward when you can, or step backwards and try something else when you can’t. The greatest mistake to make is standing still." Oliver Emberton

(Photo credit to Oliver Emberton)