Here we are deep into the winter in months in Norway and Nordic Terrain Academy is quietly turning the cogs and getting pumped up for another memorable summer in 2022. Post summer was a time for NTA staff to reflect from a wider scope and now we move forward with how we can enhance the camper experience.
Why is reflection important?
Taking the time to reflect on experiences is a powerful tool to embrace becoming a lifelong learner. At NTA, reflection is a vital part of our daily schedule for both campers and staff alike. Reflection is a time where we break down activities or events of the day into thought provoking discussions.
What events happened? Was there a challenge, an uncomfortable situation or indecision in the group or individually? Difficult to talk about for some, but it’s where we can identify growth opportunities. What led to this happening and how can we learn from any mistakes? How would we change it next time? At the same time, we explore the highlights and what went smoothly. How can we replicate that in the same or a similar environment?
Bringing awareness to our feelings is a key step towards reflection. What did you bring to the situation? Curiosity? Fear? Openness? Greed? Optimism? By breaking this down, we gain an understanding of how to improve or become more effective in a variety of situations.
To discuss all of this, we need to be open and have trust built with one another. Our team building activities in controlled environments help build this trust within groups and help us to reflect honestly and effectively. We encourage campers to recognise that discussions of perspective within a certain topic or action leads us to develop empathy.
Reflection is something we naturally do to some extent but often don’t take enough time in our busy lives. We, at NTA, understand the value of a quality reflection session and encourage our campers to adopt reflection into their lives to become a more evolved version of themselves.
Morgan Bell
