“Really? I’m surprised you’re surprised,” is a keystone phrase in Professor Harry Kraemer’s talk about the power of self-reflection. His thesis is that if you consistently reflect on if your actions match your values and are willing to challenge yourself, many things in life will not be surprising. When might be a surprise, but what happens is not.
Kraemer argues that there are two key benefits to consistent self-reflection:
- Many things are not surprising. This can create a stable, calming effect that puts things into perspective. There will always be a lot going on (who are we kidding that b-school is the busiest time in our lives?), and we need to reflect and prioritize based on our values.
- You are prepared to react when tough parts of life come. You can decide in advance that when things are going well, you will have gratitude and be present. And you can decide in advance that when things hit the fan, you will do the right thing and you will do the best you can do.
Kraemer pointed out that there’s all this talk about work-life balance. But, that implies that we are either living or working. If we think about living a balanced life instead, we have to know what is important to us. We all have the same 168 hours each week. How are we spending those hours across our “life buckets” of career/education, family/friends, faith/spirituality, health, fun, and social responsibility? Not every week will look the same, but on average, how is our time spent stacking up to what we’ve said is important?
The bottom line is that we have to make intentional decisions that align with our values every day. Being consistent with self-reflection helps us course correct quickly when we’re a bit off track and prevents bigger problems down the road. Life is too precious to just let life happen to us while we’re on auto-pilot.
Daily Learnings 