You are HERE

“You are here” maps show you where you are in relation to where you’ve been and where you are going. As we plan, plot and race to the next spot, we need to remind ourselves of the progress that got us “here” and the joy to be found on the journey to the next “here.”

The past six months of a worldwide pandemic, social unrest and political positioning have certainly turned the map upside down. There are days that feel like we’ll be “here” forever. While the immediate future is unknown and uncertainty is ruling the day, we can create certainty by tapping into our resilience, creativity and adaptability.

In The Power of Questions, Glenda Eoyang suggests three practices to engage with intractable issues:

1. See patterns not problems – when we can see patterns, we can shift them and create new patterns that serve us better;

2. Learn in action - the iterative process of Adaptive Action (WHAT? SO WHAT? NOW WHAT?) allows observations, understandings, and actions to evolve; 

3. Stand in Inquiry - No single answer is sufficient for complex issues. Questions can open our mind into new possibilities and ways to shift patterns.

Human Systems Dynamics Institute has developed models and methods to support the practices of Pattern Logic, Adaptive Action, and Inquiry.

“Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push — in just the right place — it can be tipped.” — Malcolm Gladwell

Asking questions and being open to new answers push us from the complacency of contracting into the possibilities of expansion. Expanding prompts creativity and innovation to create a new future filled with optimism and opportunity. Exercising our imagination can help us plan and prepare for a post -COVID life. In a TEDxMile High article on How to Expand Your Imagination in 8 Days, Kendra Sand offers ways to work your imagination muscles:

1. See adventure – new experiences requires your mind to think and neurons to connect in new ways;

2. Challenge perception - “When the brain processes vision, the vast majority of information is not coming from the eyes, but from memory. In fact, it is now estimated that visual perception is 80% memory and 20% input through the eyes. In other words, sensory information is not transmitted to the brain; it comes from it.” – Jennifer Bornstein;

3. Daydream – unconnect and stop consuming technology and media. Create quiet space for yourself each day to reconnect with wonder;

4. Speak up – imagination is linked to language and voice. Talk with a friend, allow your ideas to take shape by talking about them;

5. Play – relax, meditate and reconnect with the kid in yourself;

6. Find blue – a study from the University of British Columbia found that the color blue enhances openness, calm and peacefulness;

7. Star gaze - “Experiencing the night sky provides perspective, inspiration, and leads us to reflect on our humanity and place in the universe. The history of scientific discovery and even human curiosity itself is indebted to the natural night sky.” – Dark Sky Project

8. Take a walk – creative output increases with walking and wandering.

We are living through a very intense season of change and transformation right now. While we can’t control our external circumstances, we can change what we internalize and how we can change ourselves through actions now that will serve us well in the future. “You are Here” right now and imagine, create and move to your next “here.”

Brush to Canvas

Ideas, inspiration and insights motivate, build confidence and make the case for action. They show us possibilities, invite us to dream and make way for that still small voice inside to be acknowledged and heard. The next step where we often stumble is execution, in operationalizing our dreams. Starting is a daily decision not a one-time activity. There are inflection points where we just need to jump out of idea gathering and choice overload into decision and action.

Over the past year, I’ve become more aware of my own limiting beliefs and narratives that have halted execution of my ideas, plans and pursuits. Busyness, saying yes to things that I should say no to, being a people pleaser, worrying about what other people think are a few narratives that I have given credence to and allowed them to be roadblocks to progress.

We need to create boundaries on what we let in so we can knock down walls that prevent us from moving forward. By exposing false narratives, we give ourselves permission to create new narratives, making execution easier as the answers become obvious, hiding in plain view.

“Every one of us wants to do work that matters — work that aligns with our personal values, talents, and passions. Work that makes a difference in the world,” states Ken Coleman, author of The Proximity Principle. There are three questions to ask yourself to activate the “proximity principle:”

1. Who do I need to know?

2. Where do I need to be?

3. What do I need to start doing?

The three enemies that we need to manage are fear, doubt and pride. When we breakdown the journey into actionable steps, we overcome fear, doubt and pride, moving confidently and imperfectly to the “mountain” of our choosing.

The path is made clear through consistent action, embracing a beginner’s mindset and ignoring our inner and outer critics. Through practice and effort, I am a better writer than I was three years ago but not as good as I will be in a year with ongoing application and execution.

If you are not sure where to start, Glenda Eoyang, Human Systems Dynamics Institute offers six practical steps on what to do, when you don’t know what to do:

1. Breathe;

2. List 3 things that you know for sure to ground yourself and 3 things you wonder to give yourself a diving board into the future;

3. Decide what you need to expand or contract – do you need more options or do you need to narrow to less options – divergence or convergence;

4. Explore tensions – will you:
   act or ask
   go alone or with others
   quickly or slowly
   now or later
   down a tried and true path or new adventure
   be open or closed
   join or leave

5. Do something! Anything!!  - action!

6. See what happens and then start again.

We convince ourselves that we need every step figured out before we proceed. While a plan, goals and deadlines are important, starting provides clarity and creates opportunities that define the path.

By putting “brush to canvas,” filling the blank page with words, we move from abstract concepts to concrete execution, doing it again, adjusting and then doing it again until we arrive home to ourselves.

Stop pondering and putting off. Pick up the brush and start painting. No more overthinking or being overwhelmed with all of the color choices. Put brush to canvas and start painting your own beautiful, brilliant and imperfect picture.

“If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” – Vincent Van Gogh