The Power of Reflection
“By fixing this one problem we can increase productivity in the United States by 10% or more.” That was the name of the article I was going to publish last fall.
The premise of the article had to deal with the frustration of school drop off, especially during rainy weather. Dropping off my kids off at school was an extremely inefficient process. Some cars moved quickly, others extremely slow. A few cars thought the drop off process was as if their kids were going away for months. I have come to realize, the main problem was my expectations. What was thought to take only a few minutes ended up taking more like 15 or 20 minutes.
This left me headed to work extremely frustrated, and in less than an ideal mindset to start the day, thus less productive. By watching several other people, it was clear their experience was similar to mine so if we could fix the drop off process, it would send people off to work in a better state, thus more productive.
This brings me to the title of this article, “The Power of Reflection.” This past year we had, COVID a global pandemic, shutdowns, a crazy election, extreme economic swings and financial uncertainty. As I reflect about the past year my perspective has changed.
Now I dream about being able to drop off my kids at school with a smile and laugh as I wait a little longer for parents to spend a few extra minutes with their kids. What used to be something that was frustrating is now something I would long to do, but with a smile.
As I reflect, it is clear to me that the simple human interaction with family and friends is what is important. With reflection, life becomes clearer, time slows down a bit and I appreciate the little things more.
After all we have been through this year, I will continue to reflect on 2020. The times I felt frustrated, uncertain, happy and optimistic. Do I still feel the same way reflecting back? I look forward to the hope and opportunity 2021 will bring. I will show gratitude to family and friend and be ok with the uncertainty life brings, because as I reflect back my perspective has changed, and new perspectives are good.