Try this simple writing exercise if the same thoughts are circling your head in a never ending loop and you’re struggling to find a way out of it.
Grab a pen and notebook or your laptop, tablet – whatever you feel comfortable using. I love writing by hand, something special happens when I move my hand across the page, so give it a try if you can, but please don’t worry if that doesn’t work for you. Laptop, tablet, phone work as well, and don’t forget, this is for you. The messier and freer the better.
The Headings
It’s the simplicity that I love. The three headings are easy to remember and they gently guide you and your thoughts in a way that isn’t overly restrictive. They’re more of a prompt to guide and help reframe your thoughts. Plus, it can be used in any situation – work, home, relationships. That’s its beauty.
1. What
2. So What
3. Now What
1. What?
Write down what’s on your mind. Don’t worry about the spelling or grammar, just let the words flow. Your thoughts might jump around and that’s ok – just go with it. If you’re struggling to get going though, ask yourself these questions:
- What is the problem / difficulty / reason for feeling stuck / for feeling unhappy?
2. So what?
Read back at what you’ve written. Look at it, analyse it and ask yourself, ‘so what?’. You’re breaking down the situation so that you can understand it better.
- Why is this so important to me? Why does this matter so much?
- What does this teach me about me / other people / our relationship / my attitudes
- What could I have done differently / What is my new understanding of the situation?
This is the point where you might experience a few lightbulb moments as you see situations from a fresh perspective or resistance.
3. Now what?
Now we turn our focus to how you can put what you’ve learned and discovered into action.
- What can you do to make things better / resolve the situation / feel better?
- What is the problem / difficulty / reason for feeling stuck / for feeling unhappy?
What is reflective practice?
Reflective practice is an integral part of medical and healthcare practice and put simply, is based on the idea of ‘thinking with purpose’. It’s how we learn through our experiences. I first learned about it when I trained as a postnatal facilitator with the NCT (National Childbirth Trust) and have found this writing exercise incredibly effective over the years. Based on Borton’s framework for reflective practice it was adapted to suit NCT teaching practice.
There’s a huge amount of research behind reflective practice and writing and this blog and writing exercise is my simplified approach but it’s an approach that’s helped me hugely over the years and it’s why I wanted to share it with you.
Let me know how you get on.
Harriet