Tag Archives: reflection

“The answers you seek never…”

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“The answers you seek never come when the mind is busy. They come when the mind is still, when silence speaks loudest.”

—Author Unknown

Image from huffingtonpost.com

Image from huffingtonpost.com

Most of us are familiar with the phrase “Silence is Golden.” Perhaps it is the value expressed in today’s quote that makes it so. It is virtually impossible to explore new ideas and inquire into new levels of thinking when our minds are going a million miles per hour.

EXERCISE:

Try blocking out five to ten minutes today for quiet reflection and personal inquiry. Consider choosing a topic or question worth pondering closely, and see what you discover.
Also consider making this a daily habit and explore the added value of capturing any insight you will likely have in a journal or notebook.

“My Sun Sets to Rise Again.”

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“My sun sets to rise again.”

—Robert Browning, English poet and playwright

Photo from Flickr by Tomas Penalver

Photo from Flickr by Tomas Penalver

A student named Julio, asked to interpret Browning’s quote, said, “The sun sets to lay to rest what is done, and rises to give way to what is to come.”

That this quote begins with the word “my” causes me to focus within, to examine and reflect on the experience of my day, as well as the level of initiative I bring to it as I bound out of bed in the morning.

I find Julio’s interpretation beautiful and poetic. I also feel that Browning was challenging each of us to play a more active role in manifesting each day to the best of our abilities. He asks us to bask in the satisfaction of being an integral part of the rhythmic flow of our lives and the world.

EXERCISE:

Spend a few morning and evening minutes in thought, to capture your intention for the day to come, and reflections on the day that is done.

“I have always tried to make room for anything that wanted to come to me from within.”

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“I have always tried to make room for anything that wanted to come to me from within.”

—Dr. Carl Gustav Jung, Founder of analytical psychology

Photo from Flickr by Harturg HKD

Photo from Flickr by Harturg HKD

Among his many contributions to the fields of psychiatry and psychotherapy were Jung’s works on extroversion, introversion, archetypes, and the collective unconscious.

We often find ourselves operating in an adrenaline-rich environment, with the volume turned up full blast. Jung suggests that we create and use an internal “Mute Button” to take a quiet or even silent journey of self-reflection and personal discovery.

EXERCISE:

Take at least five minutes today to sit in silence. Explore your inner world.  Notice how thoughts, feelings, and images bubble up and fade away. What nuggets of wisdom come through?

Consider picking up a copy of one of my favorite books, Quiet (2012), by Susan Cain, to discover the power of introverts in “a world that can’t stop talking.”

“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

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“There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.”

– Edith Wharton, Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist

518Image from Flickr by Avijeet_Sachdev.

This quote immediately appealed to me as a great metaphor for the role of a coach. Much of the time, a coach’s focus is to help their clients discover, expand, and give off their light in the form of their vision, values, gifts, and talents.

At the same time, coaches often act as mirrors, reflecting back to each individual this same light to support and synergize with them in order to enhance their power, focus, and effectiveness.

Exercise:

How can you play the role of candle and mirror today as you support others and pursue your own excellence journey?

observation and reflection

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“It’s on the strength of observation and reflection that one finds a way.”

– Claude Monet, French impressionist painter

Image of Monet Water Lillies painting

Image from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

This past summer, I had the opportunity to visit the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, and saw some of Monet’s work. It is said that he rejected traditional approaches to landscape painting and instead of copying old masters, began learning from nature itself. He particularly took note of variations of color and light caused by daily or seasonal changes.

Exercise:

How can you find your own way to live your life and pursue your goals on your own strength of observation and reflection?

Consider checking out Daniel Pink’s A Whole New Mind, published in 2005, to exercise your right brain in what’s still a pretty left-brained world.

“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”

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“Follow effective action with quiet reflection. From the quiet reflection will come even more effective action.”

– Peter Drucker, management consultant and author

One of the most important elements of a coaching relationship is the gift of feedback. Many (if not most) of life’s greatest lessons occur following experiential learning, rather than head or book lessons. Drucker, who is considered by many as one of the great pioneers of modern leadership and management, knew this well over the course of his distinguished career.

Exercise:

Practice the following three-step self-coaching exercise to gain greater insight into your efforts and increase your effectiveness:

Step 1: Ask yourself what is working or not working regarding your current efforts.
Step 2: Reflect on what your desired goal or outcome is beyond the current status.
Step 3: Brainstorm alone or perhaps with a friend or colleague some new or different actions that will likely get you to your goal.

Feel free to repeat this process as often as needed.