What are your Roses, Thorns and Buds?

They say the days are long but the years are short...and I’m starting to agree.

Amazingly, we’ve made it through the first three months of 2021, and the time does indeed seem to be flying by.

I am a firm believer in the value and importance of reflection.

Taking stock and answering the question: How am I doing? Even more importantly, how am I being?

The end of the first quarter of 2021 is a perfect time to stop and reflect. Which is why this weekend I found myself (in the passenger seat of my car, of all places!), making an impromptu list of my Roses, Thorns, and Buds.

Rose, Thorn, Bud is a method for reflection and feedback that originated from the Boy Scouts. It’s now used in boardrooms, conference rooms and school rooms all over the world.

It goes like this: 

Imagine you have a single-stem rose. The Roses are the beautiful part, the lovely elements of your first three months of 2021.

When reflecting on Roses, ask yourself:

• What’s gone well?

• 
What have I loved about my year so far?


• What are the memories, experiences and conversations I want to remember?


• What have been my successes and wins?

The Thorns are, not surprisingly, the painful parts.

Reflect on Thorns by asking:

• What didn’t go well? 


• Where have I been challenged, where did I struggle or get stuck?


• What’s been hard, sad or disappointing?


• What was a total flop?

Finally, the Buds represent the potential, the opportunity that lies ahead.

Find Buds by asking:

• What am I looking forward to?

• 
What might be possible?


• Where do I think this might lead?


• What am I creating or hoping for next?

Now it’s your turn: grab a pen and some paper, some post-its, or even the notes app on your phone. 

It doesn’t need to be anything fancy or polished or even legible to anyone but you!

It doesn’t need to take a lot of time or mental effort.

But trust me: you don’t want to skip over this. 

Why?

Because in order to move forward, we have to know where we’re coming from.

Give it a try and then comment below: what’s one Rose, Thorn or Bud you’re hoping to learn from or bring forward in some way into April? I’d love to hear from you.

Onward,

PS: Another benefit of actually writing this down? In three months you can return to it, like a time capsule, and see how far you’ve come.