When work is busy and demanding it can be hard to step back – to breathe, let alone think.
With this in mind, this reflection exercise is designed to offer some structured support to seeing a work challenge from different perspectives – experimenting with getting closer, stepping back, using different times, and different eyes.
Taking just a moment to consider different perspectives to a challenge can shift how we feel and think about our experience, and what we do in response – supporting us to move forward in a considered way even when things are busy.
To start…
- This reflection exercise shares some questions, answer them in a way that works for you and pause or stop whenever you need to
- To start, take a moment to figure out how you’d like to approach this: Would you prefer to think, write or type your responses?
- As you notice more, what does your body need before you start? A stretch, a drink, warmth, a loo break, perhaps.
Your challenge
- First decide what work challenge you’d like to look at today
- What about this challenge is feeling tricky?
- What impact is the challenge having?
- Is this a novel challenge or something you experience often?
Getting closer
- Choose an object in your environment that represents your challenge
- In what ways is this object similar to your challenge?
- Look at your object more closely, what else do you see that represents this challenge?
- What stands out to you having looked at your challenge in this way?
Stepping back
- Place your object further away from you – as far away as appeals
- What can you see about your challenge that you couldn’t see before?
- What does the distance lead to?
- In a world where anything is possible where would you like to put your object that represents your challenge?
- What feels important about your challenge having stepped back?
Timelines
- What would Sunday morning you say about your challenge?
- What would a younger you – whatever age that brings up – say about your challenge?
- What would a retired you say about your challenge?
- What are you taking from these different timeline perspectives?
Different eyes
- What would your closest friend say about your challenge?
- Would your favourite work colleague say?
- When you look at your challenge with soft eyes, what do you notice?
- What does looking at your challenge through different eyes lead you think or feel?
Letting things settle
- Take a little break if that feels welcome, closing your eyes if that also feels welcome
- How have you found looking at your challenge from different perspectives?
- What are you taking away from this time reflecting on your challenge?
- Are there any ideas cropping up you’d like to note down?
- Having taken some time and energy to reflect, what would you like to do next?
