ONE LAST
THING
I know
it is the end of the year and you are scrambling to get everything finished
before you take a well-deserved Christmas break, but there is just one
more thing I would like you to do for me.
Reflect.
I think that between the end of one year and the beginning of the next,
it is useful to reflect on what has happened in the year that has gone
by. This reflection often produces insights which can guide you in the
coming year. Time spent in reflection and on planning is rarely time wasted
in my experience.
Reflection does not take a lot of work. In fact, it can be quite relaxing
because reflection is more of a passive process than an active one. This
is what you have to do.
First, at the end of the day or on the weekend, find a quiet spot where
you can sit undisturbed for 15 minutes or so. Next, pour yourself a glass
of wine, a cold beer, or your favourite spirit. Then, after settling in
the previously mentioned quiet spot, take a few sips of your favourite
drink. Finally, sit back and think about all of the things that happened
to you this year, and how you handled them. Don't analyse why these things
happened or make any judgements about the way you handled them. Just bring
them to the surface of your conscious mind and let them sit there. It's
a bit like airing clothes really.
"Is that all there is to it?" you ask.
Yes. You see, I am a big believer in the "back burner process."
The back burner process is where you take an idea or a problem and
you put it in a pot, so to speak, and then you put the pot on the back
burner of the stove in the back of your mind. While you are working away
at other things, or even while you are making merry over Christmas, the
ideas or problems simmer away in the pot. Eventually an insight or solution
will come to the surface of the bubbling brew. Your subconscious mind
will then notify your conscious mind that a useful idea or insight is
on its way. You will experience the "Ah ha!" phenomenon where seemingly
out of the blue a really brilliant idea pops into your conscious mind
much the same way as toast pops out of the toaster.
What you do with this newly hatched piece of wisdom is up to you. You
can act on it right away, you can file it in your mind for future reference
or you can write it down. If you are over 50, I suggest writing it down.
For some reason, it gets harder to find things in that mental filing cabinet
once you reach the half-century mark.
The back burner is a useful tool which most of us do not realise we
have. It works at any time of the year. In fact, the beauty of the back
burner is that it works while you don't. It's like leaving your computer
turned on to download a big file while you spend the weekend with the
family.
Have a happy and safe Christmas holiday. Enjoy the hot summer weather
(if we get any), the wonderful New Zealand beaches and most of all, being
with your family.
But before you do, fill up a pot and put it on the back burner. You
might need those insights next year.
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