Quit regret, instead reflect
#60 - first term of Year 12 ✅
Hi there,
The end of the year, already? This first term of Sixth Form has zoomed through. Yet, I feel like I’ve developed, changed and learned so much in the past 4 months. 2 weeks of rest and relaxation ahead 😎
Highlight of the week ⭐️: playing in the school Christmas Concerts. A gruelling start to the week with 2 days of out the door at 7:30, back at 9:30 was worth it. It was great fun playing three instruments, a whole host of songs along with the usual concert calamities (this year, it was running back to the music block to get my music 2 minutes before we went up and slightly knocking the bell of my saxophone). You can read my report on the 2 nights here.
After a busy start to the week, you’d have found me at the local swimming pool on Wednesday, being the stats man for the school House Swimming Gala.
It’s a more challenging job than you think: a flurry of score slips that need to be entered, bearing in mind the various spreadsheet idiosyncracies you weren’t initially aware of and swimmers badgering you for scores on the scoreboard. High-pressure stuff and the quote that came to mind is one by a famous American novelist.
“How did you go bankrupt?" Two ways. Gradually, then suddenly.” - Ernest Hemingway
It was a constant sine wave of hushes of calm and peak moments with 3/4 sets of scores waiting to be entered. All good fun of course and I got to sharpen up my Excel skills #positiveperspective
When we were done, I decided to write down a few pointers to help me do my job better and with less hassle next year. I got home and reflected on what we needed to do beforehand to allow for a successful scoring system.
Our lives are busy and we are constantly moving forward, from event to event, task to task, problem to problem. However, it’s important to press ‘Pause’ once in a while to look back and learn from the past. If not, you end up like a myopic salesperson standing by a conveyer belt, looking for the barcode (solution) to every product (inflowing work), scanning it and moving on.
This is especially valuable in goal-oriented experiences, regardless of whether it was a success or failure. In both cases, we need to examine what worked, why it did and likewise, what didn’t work, hunt down the true underpinning causes and outline remedies/fixes that we can implement to change the outcome next time; this is the foundation of learning from the past.
If we don’t take this time to reflect and realise why there was a difference between the plan and the outcome, the chance of improvement or success next time is slim.
“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” - Albert Einstein
“The only thing that we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history.” - Georg Hegel
Failure is tough, yes, but we must take them from a positive frame of mind. John C Maxwell says “Sometimes we win, sometimes we learn”. Take the time to actively apply a growth mindset and drill down into what you can take away from this data point. At school, after every assessment, we are instructed to engage in some ‘DIRT’ - Dedicated Improvement and Reflection Time - to guide future efforts and preparation for tests.
As I’ve mentioned before, I chose to reflect on each of my 3 ‘big exams’ in Years 10 and 11 and would say, with certainty, that doing that contributed toward my eventual achievement. It is only when you sit down to take the time to do serious thought and introspection on how you can get better that real insight is unearthed. These truths can often be heart-wrenching but you are better off knowing them and doing something about it, than hiding away and staying in misery, frustrated at your repeated stagnation.
However, there are always caveats to any piece of advice. There’s a poster on our English corridor that has this quote below which I smile at every time I see it.
“Don’t look back - you’re not going that way” - Mary Engelbreit
This is certainly true. Keeping your head forward and marching on is a vital part of resilience and determination. It is important not to do too much reflection: we can end up being too negative, harsh and critical on ourselves. Whenever we do reflect, it should be painful for a bit, yes, but that should merely be a ‘kick up the back side’. Beyond that, it is a minefield for learning and adapting.
My previous neighbour used to say “My mum always told me to ‘Pause, and reflect’”. I highly value reflection as a time to take stock of the past and derive nuggets of lessons, thoughts and ideas that I can use to serve my future self better. As we approach the end of another huge year, I encourage you to spend some time these holidays looking back on the highs and lows of the year to guide you in the right direction in 2023.
Podcast of the week 🎙️
The Ezra Klein Show: What I’m Thinking About at the End of 2022
Very well thought-out reflections from a NY times journalist. I suggest you skip past the first half-hour: it’s all about US politics (unless that’s your thing of course…)
Article of the week 📰
An alternative to flying less - the pros and cons of carbon offsetting
A key component of many companies’ climate targets, offsetting seems like a good enough idea. There are a few arguments against this practice though, analysed here.
Quote of the week 💬
Success is the sum of small efforts – repeated day in and day out. - Robert Collier
I will be reflecting on the first term in the next 2 weeks, hope you do too
Adi