When we think about learning from our reflection, we often just focus on new skills or knowledge we need to acquire. However, effective learning can be as much about what we discard and what we reinforce from what we have already learnt.
It can be useful to articulate three types of learning:
What new skills or knowledge do you need to acquire to help you deal better with similar situations in the future and how can you increase your chances of using them?
What habitual ways of dealing with this type of situation do you need to avoid in future and how can you increase your chances of avoiding them?
Which of your existing ways of dealing with such situations do you need to reinforce for the future? Which former approaches do you need to revive?
You can use counterfactual thinking to help you populate these learning lists.
Model courtesy of Helen Tupper inspired by a quote from Alvin Toffler: “The illiterate of the 21st Century are not those who cannot read and write but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn.”