First, by reflection
By three methods we may learn wisdom: first, by reflection, which is noblest; second, by imitation, which is easiest; and third, by experience, which is the bitterest.
Confucius names three ways to acquire wisdom, and each comes with a trade-off. Reflection means looking inward at your own thoughts and feelings, which builds self-awareness but takes time and the willingness to face your own shortcomings. Imitation, watching and copying people you admire, is the easiest, but it can flatten your own creativity and doesn't always fit your situation. Experience is the bitterest, learning by living through the hard parts and your own mistakes; it is often the most effective, and the slowest and most painful.
This piece is about my first real introduction to reflective practice. I had met reflection before as a designer, but a masterclass at Srishti let me approach it more deliberately: critically analysing your own work and putting every small part of it into words. It is a way to learn from mistakes, notice your own reactions, and measure how you grow. Mastery of anything comes from steady practice and curiosity, not overnight. I also learned that reflective practice has a long history, from ancient Buddhism [1] and the Roman era [2] with their emphasis on self-examination, through John Dewey [3] and Donald Schön [4], to its place today across many fields.
Schön brought reflective practice to a wide audience with his 1983 book The Reflective Practitioner [4:1], building on work with Argyris on single- and double-loop learning [5]. Single-loop learning keeps using the same strategy after an error; double-loop learning changes the strategy to avoid repeating the mistake. Other models include Kolb's 1975 experiential learning [6], which is about turning information into knowledge; Gibbs's 1988 structured debriefing [7], with its cycle from description through feeling, evaluation, analysis, conclusion, and an action plan; Johns's 1995 model [8], built around sharing with a colleague or mentor; Brookfield's 1998 model [9], which examines assumptions through four lenses; and Rolfe's 2001 cycle [10] of three questions: What? So what? Now what?
Across all of them, a few things matter. Reflecting as honestly as you can, without letting bias colour it. Building self-awareness of how your thoughts and feelings shape your work. Taking responsibility for your own learning by seeking out new experiences and feedback. Naming your strengths and weaknesses so you can build on one and work on the other. And picking a way to do it, whether writing or a structured debrief.
None of this is easy. Confronting your own biases, weaknesses, and mistakes is uncomfortable, and finding time for reflection in a busy week is its own challenge. What helps is a supportive circle of peers or mentors, a small dedicated slot for it, even a few minutes a day, and a growth mindset that treats ability as something you build.
Next I want to try different models and find the one that fits me, and see how reflection carries into other parts of my life.
Winter, Richard. 'Buddhism and Action Research: Towards an Appropriate Model of Inquiry for the Caring Professions.' Educational Action Research 11, no. 1 (March 2003): 141-60. doi:10.1080/09650790300200208 ↩︎
Mac Suibhne, Seamus. 'Wrestle to Be the Man Philosophy Wished to Make You: Marcus Aurelius, Reflective Practitioner.' Reflective Practice 10, no. 4 (September 2009): 429-36. doi:10.1080/14623940903138266 ↩︎
Dewey, John. How We Think: A Restatement of the Relation of Reflective Thinking to the Educative Process. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. ↩︎
Schön, Donald A. The Reflective Practitioner: How Professionals Think in Action. New York: Basic Books, 1983. ↩︎ ↩︎
Argyris, C., & Schön, D. A. (1978). Organizational learning: A theory of action perspective. Addison-Wesley. ↩︎
Kolb, D. A. (1975). Learning style inventory. McBer & Company. ↩︎
Gibbs, G. (1988). Learning by doing: A guide to teaching and learning methods. Further Education Unit. ↩︎
Johns, C. (1995). Framing learning through reflection within Carper's fundamental ways of knowing in nursing. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 22(2), 226-234. ↩︎
Brookfield, S. D. (1998). Critically reflective practice. Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Professions, 18(4), 197-205. ↩︎
Rolfe, G., Freshwater, D., & Jasper, M. (2001). Critical reflection in nursing and the helping professions: A user's guide. Palgrave Macmillan. ↩︎