Welcome to the LAST week of blogging! Congratulations, we made it to the end! My name is Kristi Sokol and I am a senior graduating in May. My minor is communications and my areas of study are commerce and the arts. I have struggled with choosing a major since I started college. I knew I wanted to work in the entertainment industry but I did not want to choose a specific area such as journalism or radio/television because I am interested in all areas. I did not want to limit myself so I took courses in many disciplines until I realized I was never going to graduate if I continued on this path. Since I found IDS it has helped me understand my skills as well as integrate my interests into a promising future in entertainment.
Objectives: This week we will discuss the importance of reflection as well as personal philosophy.
Talking points:
- Share your understanding of what reflection means to you.
- What is the difference between reflection and description?
- What do you feel is important to reflect on?
- How can reflecting help you personally and professionally?
- What do your surroundings reflect about you?
- What is personal philosophy?
- What is your personal philosophy that you live by?
- How can you apply what you have learned from reflecting on this blog to “real” life situations?
- What new insights or discoveries have you gained from this week’s activity?
Activity: Reflect on your time in college as well as your personal and professional life. Think about your personal philosophy. Answer 3-5 talking points listed above.
Share your understanding of what reflection means to you.
ReplyDeleteTo my understanding reflection is just taking the time to think about yourself and the choices that you have made. I believe that this is a means for us to grow and to become better. It gives us the chance to learn from our past experiences and to make better decisions, or in other words to learn from our success and mistakes.
Great example Mike!
DeleteReflecting is taking a serious look at decisions for how they were made and for what they are - good and bad.
When someone looks in a mirror they see (for better or worse... as debated by everyone's inner critic!) what the world sees, literally reflected back.
How can reflecting help you personally and professionally?
ReplyDeleteI think that reflection is important both personally and professionally, reflection is what makes the trial and error method of doing things work. Both personally and professionally reflection can give you the advantage to see things retrospectively since you could be going through something that you have experienced before.
What is personal philosophy?
ReplyDeletePersonal philosophy is your way of life; it is how you interpret the world around that is unique to you. It is why a degree like IDS is possible and is so important, because it gives you more flexibility than most degrees to be yourself. I can tell that my personal philosophy is heavily impacted by art, because I find myself analyzing things from a visual perspective all the time. Another way to look at it is just like every discipline has its set rules on how to do things, your personal philosophy is your rules on how do things.
Hi Mike, I like your example tying personal philosophy back to the IDS degree. It is nice to be able to tailor a degree to suit you as an individual.
DeleteMike, I totally agree with your explanation of reflection. It does help look on past experiences and make you realize what you did wrong or what you did well. A lot of times you don't get the full impact of experiences until you look back at them. It definitely helps a person grow! Nice posts :)
ReplyDeleteMikeBee
DeleteYour explanation of reflection is based on what you have chosen to do in the past, and growing into the future. I also agree that that is a good explanation.
I feel that reflection also gives us chance to improve, grow, change, and see ourselves at various stages in our growth.
Great post
Mike, your assessment of personal philosophy is spot on. Everyone has different mechanics. Finding what works and sticking with it through the rough patches also helps develop personal philosophy. Like the idiom states: "to each their own."
DeleteTo me reflection is taking a deep look at yourself and truly realizing what your potential is. I think we also reflect on past experiences in order to learn and adapt from them. Another element of reflection in my opinion is using elements of your personal life to reflect your hobbies, interests, dreams and goals.
ReplyDeleteOne excellent practice for "taking a deep look at yourself" is journaling
DeleteUse a journal to record insights and things your noticed through the day.
Each day, write down one thing you noticed about yourself in each of these domains: mind, body, emotions. Ask yourself: What did I notice in my mind today?
What did I notice in my body today?
What did I notice in my emotions today?
After doing this for two weeks, you'll notice patterns and trends in your behavior and way of being in the world. Then ask yourself powerful questions. What positive patterns emerge? What patterns would you like to change?
For me my surrounding reflect a lot about me. I am rather obsessed with movies, comics and video games. So a lot of my clothing, and posters and such reflect that. Additionally I am highly into professional sports so a lot of personal items in my life, from iPhone case, to clothing reflect that.
ReplyDeleteI agree Mark. It's like the saying "you are what you eat". We are what we surround ourselves with, and that will reflect back on you as a person. Even down to our phone cases :-)
DeleteMark, I like the angle that you are taking about your reflection is what is around you. A "mirror" image almost. Personal possessions often do times cause others to make "first opinions" or bias, which points out that our possessions do reflect who we are. Same as what we do for a living, what we watch as you said and what our interests are. I think you presented a great point.
DeleteI think it is important to reflect on things that are truly important to your life. Be it education, work, or just things that will advance you. Reflecting on something like what you should eat for dinner is sort of a waste, but reflecting on choices you have made in the past in order to prepare for the future is highly recommended.
ReplyDeleteMark
DeleteThats the idea of reflection, it means something different to each individual. I agree that it is important to reflect ont things that impact your life, and the choices you have made.
Good post
Mark
DeleteI don't ever want to get to that point in life where the basis of my reflection lies in what I'm preparing for dinner (that is, until I retire from whatever career I pursue). I'd want to reflect on how I succeeded and reached this milestone due to hard work and perseverance. The microwaveable hot pockets will be all the more savory for it.
How can reflecting help you personally and professionally?
ReplyDeleteReflection can be beneficial because by design it enables you to analyze the situation. Say you want to take a meaningful look at decisions that you’ve made, and how they’ve put you in the position you are today – that’s reflecting. Through careful analysis of the cause-and-effect of decisions and events that have occurred in the past you can get a better feel or direction for the path down where you’re going.
I agree with you about the fact that is definitely a useful tool to reflect on decisions you have made in your life. Analyzing the things you have done and the situations you have been in really provide yourself with the means to make yourself a better person. Without reflecting on these means, you many never realize large flaws in the way you live your life, and you may not even like yourself.
DeleteWhat is the difference between reflection and description?
ReplyDeleteReflection is subjective whereas description is objective. Reflection is personified from a personal point of view, with bias (intentional or not), while description is generally as viewed from an outside perspective, without bias (traditionally)
Hi Shaun,
DeleteI like the differences you point out between reflection and description here. Reflection carries more context than just a general description of something.
What is personal philosophy?
ReplyDeleteA personal philosophy can be thought of as the “compass” by which you guide your lifestyle. Personal philosophies will differ radically from person to person, based on each individual’s significant life events, morality, culture, religion, friendships, and the lack thereof to any of these. Ironically, a personal philosophy can be labeled with how that person wants to describe themselves, but generally these can’t be written down. They can write a mantra, motto, belief, etc but when it comes down to someone’s personal philosophy it’s all about the actions or decisions that the person chooses when they are given a choice. A person’s philosophy is what makes or breaks that person’s character. Generally if they are consciously aware of this, and know that all decisions (seemingly large or small) are what embodies their character (and image to the world), they will have more positive experiences with others.
Shaun
DeleteAnother great post on reflection. I like your personal philosphy post. I think that you are correct when you say personal philosophy is a persons compass and guides their life. It also steers people in a right or wrong direction and reflection can help visualize that direction.
good post
Shaun
DeleteI like your compass analogy of personal philosophy. Since we aren't all taking the same route, the guidance of the compass will assist in bringing us to where we want to be. Like you said, the decisions we make determine where that needle is pointing and hopefully it's pointing to utopia.
Shaun, I definitely like that you talked about the metaphor of a "compass." It is a really interesting train of thought to compare ones thoughts and reflections to a tool that is so simple in life. Yet at the same time you know that it is very truthful. A compass gives us that directional knowledge that we learn through reflecting on our past situations and choices. Very good post.
DeleteShaun,
DeleteGreat post. really like the term compass in regards to personal philosophy. It makes perfect sense really, but had not thought of it. I also agree that a persons philosophy makes or breaks their character, and I wish more people would realize this.
Understanding Reflection
ReplyDelete"The unexamined life is not worth living."
I'm sure you've read this quote before: Socrates said that at his trial for heresy. He was on trial for encouraging his students to challenge the accepted beliefs of the time and think for themselves. The sentence was death but Socrates had the option of suggesting an alternative punishment. He could have chosen life in prison or exile, and would likely have avoided death. But Socrates believed that these alternatives would rob him of the only thing that made life useful: Examining the world around him and discussing how to make the world a better place.
Without his "examined life" there was no point in living.
Important Things to Reflect On...
ReplyDeletePeople who do examine their lives, who think about where they've been, how they got here, and where they're going, are much happier people. No one has all the answers. And no one's life is free from trails and tribulations. But those who have some sense of where they belong in the universe have a context for understanding how all facets of their life fit together.
If there are two people, one with a map and one without a map, who has the better chance of reaching her destination? The one with the map, of course.
When you set aside time to examine your life,
You get to choose your destination; You get to set the goals;
You get to determine the path; You get to decide how long it will take;
You get to decide whether you're on the right path or the wrong path.
In other words, you begin to know your self and to take control of your life. You decide who you want to be and begin to become the person you want to be.
How can Reflecting help you ?
ReplyDeleteMastering the art of self reflection can lead to profound personal growth and transformation. In fact, many learning theorists in the West argue that critical self reflection is the core ingredient in personal transformation. This means simply having an experience does not lead to personal and professional growth. Rather, growth occurs through reflecting on experiences and expanding your own established worldviews.
Engage in Critical self-reflection. I do not mean criticizing yourself or analyzing your flaws. Rather, by self reflection I mean asking yourself tough, provocative questions that challenge your understanding of yourself and your world.
What do I really, really want?
What are my most important values?
What does it mean to choose? To live proactively?
Who am I at my best?
Who am I at my worst?
Who am I becoming?
What am I avoiding or resisting?
What is the lie I tell myself?
Who do I give my power away to?
What am I most grateful for?
What am I settling for?
If I knew I would die a month from now, what would I do?
What is my gift to give to the world?
By working with these tough questions, you both deepen your knowledge of yourself and clarify how you want to live.
And, self reflection can help you move through the stages of life as you expand your ability to see nuances and think more holistically.
Laura Lynn
DeleteThis is the best post I have read in regards to what reflection is, and I am in awe that you have put the meaning in such relavant terms and explained it so eloquantly.
Wonderful post
Share your understanding of what reflection means to you.
ReplyDeleteReflection is the ability to look back at a specific situation and analyze the various details. Whether it be self-reflection, or a scenario involving another individual, I believe the ability to reflect is very important. It encourages people to improve their self-awareness, while also challenging individuals to ask themselves important questions. In my opinion, reflection allows individuals to discover what they may or may not have taken away from a specific situation. It also helps an individual pinpoint negative and positives in any situation.
Devin McGhee
What do you feel is important to reflect on?
ReplyDeleteI feel the majority of the events that take place in day-to-day life are important to reflect on. Reflection builds character. It also helps people develop a better understanding of events that occur in their life. Reflection provides people with the ability to think deeply about their actions and the actions of others, providing them with an outlet to make changes during the handling of certain situations in the future. Reflection is extremely important to the overall improvement of oneself.
Devin McGhee
I agree that the majority of day to day events are important to reflect on. I think that we should always reflect on anything that we do, even if we are doing mundane things, or nothing at all. If we spent some time reflecting on wasited time, maybe there would be more motivation to actually do things that matter. Instead we (I) forgot all the useless time spent during a day, and simply do it all over again.
DeleteDevon
DeleteNice post, as I said earlier everyone has their own thoughts and opinions on what reflection is and means to them in their lives.
The real idea is that it is a great tool to make change, to move forward, and review past choices.
How we reflect and to what degree depends on the person and their use of it as a tool in their lives.
What is personal philosophy?
ReplyDelete"I rather be hated for who I am, than loved for what I am not." -Kurt Cobain
I live by this statement. I believe throughout life, you will always encounter people who dislike you for some reason or another. But, if I remain true to myself and my morals, that doesn't bother me. But when you carry around a facade and people develop a perception of you based off of untruths, that is somewhat like false advertisement. So, I rather remain who I truly am and be disliked for it, instead of "falsely advertising" simply to be liked or adored.
Devin McGhee
Reflection, for me, is a tool for growth. If done honestly, reflection can tell you where you've been and in what direction you are heading. It provides an opportunity to assess mistakes and provide foresight for the future. This applies both personally and professionally. Personally one can use reflection to assess relationships with wants and needs. Professionally reflection wil identify strengths and weaknesses and provide necessary insight for future growth.
ReplyDeleteJason,
DeleteI agree with you totally that reflection is a tool, and is used by people in their own way to judge what is important to them and what needs to be changed in their lives.
I think it is a good way to view our past choices, mistakes, lifestyles and to move forward in those areas.
I also agree that it expands our growth and also provides us an opportunity to choose a different path.
MikeBee, I love how you said that reflection puts to use the trial and error method. Great example! This is very true. If we never make mistakes, we will never know.
ReplyDeleteMark, it is great that you know you can identify how your surroundings reflect you. Your surroundings reflect your pesonality. Looking at someones room, can explain so much about them.
Shaun, awesome example of a "compass" as your pesonal philosphy. A person's personal philosophy ultimatly directs your life. It wieghs on your career, lifestyle, and hobbies.
Laura what a fabulous example! Socrates was right. If you cannot examine and enjoy life then it is not worth living. I challenge everything and everyone should. We live in the land of the free and deserve to have our own opinions.
Devin, before I fall asleep I ussually lay in bed and reflect on my day. Even if I do not mean to, my day-to-day activities always run through my head. I find mistakes that I may have missed and new opportunities.
Jason, reflection is absolutley a tool for growth. When I have a difficult problem, I reflect on my past and what I want for my future. I can often find an answer that way.