Reflection Before Action

Reflection fuels the journey ahead

The turn of a new year has a way of creating space. Space to pause, to look back with a little distance, and to think more deliberately about what lies ahead: particularly in how we work and make decisions.

Reflection is often treated as something passive: a pause between moments of action. In practice, it is rarely neutral. What we choose to reflect on, and what we choose to ignore, quietly shapes our direction long before any decision is made.

Much of progress, in work and in life, begins before movement. It starts with noticing patterns, questioning assumptions, and being honest about what has worked and what has not. Without that, action risks becoming repetition rather than advancement.

This year, I’m creating more room for that pause. I’m also experimenting: trying a few new things, sharing a little more of what I notice along the way, and learning as I go. Not with a fixed destination in mind, but with an openness to where considered steps might lead.

Reflection, after all, does not slow the journey. It fuels it.

David R. Smith