Personal Reflection on Learning and Work Experience

This personal reflection discusses the author's strengths, weaknesses, and advantages as a learner based on their work experience. The author also shares how they improved their performance through meditation and fostering good relationships with colleagues. The implications for the author as a learner are also discussed.

Running head: PERSONAL REFLECTION
Personal Reflection
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1PERSONAL REFLECTION
1. Who Am I as a Learner
1.1. What is learning?
Learning refers to the acquisition of skills and or knowledge through experience or
through an educational process (Engestrom, 2015).
1.2. My Strengths, Weaknesses and Advantages as a Learner
When it comes to judging my ability to learn, one thing that I have realized from my
experience in working for DHL is the fact that I am a person who can overcome or survive
difficult situations well, even though I get perturbed initially. A situation in which I faced
odds and was able to overcome the same was when I was working for DHL On a particular
day when I was busy handling courier requests of customer there was a customer who
approached with me with a query regarding the delivery of a shampoo product. I explained what
I knew about the order and by when he would receive it. The customer seemed not to be too
satisfied with my reply and let me know that I my response was not a convincing. He didn’t stop
there. He went on to criticize my lack of knowledge regarding courier service in general without
knowing anything about me, and said he would report me to the higher authorities at the store
stating that I was incompetent to be working there. This made me fearful and I tried to reason
with the customer as much as possible. He refused to listen to me and but I was persistent in my
efforts to keep calm and kept apologizing for not giving him a reply regarding the delivery of the
shampoo. When the matter was escalated to the higher authorities at DHL however, the
management took my side and realized that it was the customer who was problematic. They
asked the customer to leave the DHL premises and never return again. Later on, I was told not to

2PERSONAL REFLECTION
worry about the incident and to carry on doing my work. I was of course greatly at the turn of
events but the time for which the customer was reprimanding was a time during which I had
been filled with fear and I had honestly thought I would lose my job. Hence I stood my ground
and continued to be as polite with the customer as possible, something that worked well with the
management, who then took my side and showed the customer the door.
When it comes to improving my performance, one technique that I engaged in, in
order to bring about an improvement in this respect is meditation. Meditation is something
that has helped me to improve my concentration skills. It has given me the power and the ability
to focus on the tasks at hand rather than getting distracted at my place of work. It is important to
point out in this respect that distraction is something that I was previously prone to in the past but
which is no longer an issue with me. This is because of the fact that I first started meditating for
ten to fifteen minutes a day after which I gradually progressed to meditating for half an hour
every day and I still continue to practice the same. The more I meditate, the more I am able to
gain control over my thoughts and my feelings and this is something that stands me in good stead
at my place of work. I am able to focus on the tasks that are assigned to me and I get them done
readily and quickly instead of wasting time talking to my colleagues. My practice of meditation
has not only helped me to concentrate on my work better but it has also helped me to improve
the quality of my performance. Owing to the fact that I concentrate better now, I am able to pay
more attention to detail while doing my work. I can focus on exactly what it is that is required of
me from a task given to me and I carry it out accordingly, and this has led me to be praised
considerably by the supervisors at my place of work. I am also looked up to by my juniors
because of my ability to do my work with perfection and all of this has been made feasible by the
fact that I meditate.

3PERSONAL REFLECTION
Where work is concerned, I believe that fostering a harmonious relationship with
colleagues is very important. A good relationship with colleagues is something that leads to
a good work-life balance and for this reason alone, I have made it a point to get along with
each and every one of my colleagues, even when I disagree with them on work related
matters. Specifically, I am a person who has focused on maintaining a good relationship with
the immediate supervisor. My immediate supervisor and I get along with one another quite well.
We avoid keeping secrets from each other, reach out to each other in our times of need and we
always appear to have each other’s backs at the workplace, something that has led me supervisor
to trust me greatly and for me to place a lot of trust and faith in her. I always make it a point to
ensure that any instructions or orders that are given by my supervisor are carried out diligently.
By doing so, I respect my supervisor, get my tasks done on time and also ensure that my
subordinates or juniors at the workplace are doing the same. What this has led to in the bargain is
that it has caused my supervisor to be very impressed with me and my work and this in turn
motivates me to keep doing well at my job. I am for the most part, focused and attentive when I
am at work, I face few problems and I try to get as much done as possible when I am at the
workplace. My communication skills are my biggest asset and such skills have helped me to
establish good relations with my supervisor and the rest of my colleagues at my place of work.
My weaknesses lie in the fact that I trust too easily. This has led me to sometimes being
let down at my place of work. Apart from the matter of trust, there is no weakness that I have as
a worker.

4PERSONAL REFLECTION
1.3. Implications for me as a Learner
My work experience has made me learn that there is no fixed road to success. I have
learnt that patience and cooperation are key to doing well at the work place, more than
theoretical knowledge.
1.4. Support from Family and Friends
My family and friends have not contributed to my learning process as such. I am self-
taught for the most part. Whatever I have learnt is from my indoctrination, and also from the
work experience that I have gathered over the years.

5PERSONAL REFLECTION
References
Engeström, Y. (2015). Learning by expanding. Cambridge University Press.