Jobs, relationships, projects, education, love, art, travel, fun, and culture are all infinite games that we participate in throughout our lives. Each of these infinite games is made up of many finite games. The finite games are often categorized and labeled based on metrics of time, which we refer to as days, weeks, months, seasons, years, and/or chapters of time.
When learning from experience, it is imperative that we specifically delineate a finite period of time that will be the subject of our reflection. This reflection is the filtering process through which we make meaning out of what has occurred by assessing, evaluating, interpreting, organizing, and understanding (vowels: a, e, i, o, u) our thoughts and feelings in an integrative way to advance our level of play in the infinite games (jobs, relationships, projects, education, love, art, travel, fun, and culture) that are mostly constant throughout our entire lifespan.
Symbolism of Vowels
A vowel is a speech sound made with minimal constriction of the flow of air from the lungs. The ability to create sustained sound with vowels allows us to turn on more parasympathetic nervous system activity by deploying an elongated exhalation. When we make our exhales longer than our inhales, our nervous system is more capable of down-regulating–rest/digest, as opposed to fight/flight. When engaging in self-reflection, it is beneficial to be in a more parasympathetic state, so you can thoroughly process the lessons to be learned and examine the meaning you are drawing from your experience.
Assessing: Do a preliminary intake of the relative facts.
Evaluating: Account for how the facts of what occurred relate to one another and other situational variables (time of year, environmental setting, people involved, expectations of people involved–including yourself).
Interpreting: Come up with various interpretations, i.e., stories of what occurred based on your assessment and evaluation of the content and context.
Organizing: Resolve your relationship with this experience by choosing the story or stories that support and align with your WHY, future self ambitions, and core values.
Understanding: When you are learning from experience by assessing, evaluating, interpreting, and organizing your thoughts and feelings in an integrative way, you gain a greater understanding and appreciation for the voyage that is the journey of your life. As a voyager, the journey is the destination.
