Between information and reflection
By Francis J. Kong
(The Philippine Star) Updated June 09, 2012
“You and I always pay for the choices we make.”
Have you heard this line before? For some of you, this may be the
first time you’ve encountered this idea. But I bet most have heard or
read this strong viewpoint before. The question is, have you ever
reflected on it before?
Living in the cheap-high-speed-broadband-connection 21st century,
information becomes readily available to us at a flick of a finger,
making us the most informed people in the history of civilization. But
while being the most informed – to the point being over-informed really –
we’re also the least reflective.
There’s a big difference between being informed and being reflective.
I constantly load up on information. I even invest a fortune in a
yearly “brain upgrade” where I enroll myself in some of the most
prestigious (and expensive) seminars and academic courses just to add
more to my information and knowledge arsenal. But, I realize, there’s a
difference between amassing information and thinking or reflecting them
through. But we can’t do much of the latter because we’re always working
and moving.
We’re working even on days when we’re supposed to be resting. We’re
always moving as evident in our annual travel log. Personally, I get
paranoid when I have three days in a week empty of any speaking
engagement. And though I log in thousands of miles every year, I expect
to be traveling even more now that a Singaporean Speaker’s Bureau is
representing me.
It’ll do us good to take some time to sit down and reflect. Putting
on the brakes to reflect isn’t being idle. And continuously pushing down
on the pedal and going at top speed doesn’t always translate to work
success (sometimes, it leads to burn out and failure).
Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey, Harvard-based psychologists and leaders
in adult development, say, “True development is about transforming the
operating system itself, not just increasing your fund of knowledge or
your behavioral repertoire.” The same principle applies at the
organizational level. Our current capacities, say Kegan and Lahey, “no
longer suffice in a world that calls for leaders who can not only run
but also reconstitute their organizations – its norms, missions and
culture.”
Why don’t we reflect on this insight? What if aside from doing
our job well, we use our position to be an example of how slowing down
have great trade offs? Slow down and have lunch with your spouse. Go on a
vacation, and work hard on your play, not just on your work. Having
your kids enjoy their every minute with you.
When we reflect, we become more aware of what’s really happening
around us – of our cruel, fast-paced, technology-driven times that suck
the energy out of us every day. We’ll have a better idea on how to bring
balance and order in our lives. And when we’re this intentional,
wouldn’t we be focused at work? Wouldn’t we have more time for
creative-thinking? Wouldn’t we be more productive?
The Psalmist wrote, “Teach me to number my days aright, that I may
gain a heart of wisdom…” This is not just information, this is for
reflection.
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