Ideals in Motion

Problems...Friend or Foe?

 “Greatness is not a function of circumstance.
Greatness…is a matter of conscious choice.” ~ Jim Collins

 

Although it may seem so for many people, the future is not an accident waiting to happen. Frustratingly for many however, the future cannot be guaranteed. What it can be is designed. The wondrous thing about design is that the concept lends itself to flexibility. I design for contingency. I design for uncertainty while keeping true to the intent of the design.

When designing the future with my clients I help them keep their focus on function rather than form, on the experience of success rather than symbols of that success. We design to include problems not to avoid them. By designing my future I leverage the foundational activity of leadership (creating vision) and I put myself in position to lead my life rather than be at effect of the vicissitudes of life.

Designing to Include Problems

One of the least understood and most under-appreciated attributes of problems is the symbiotic relationship problems have with their solutions. Understanding this relationship can enable us to look at problems in a fundamentally different manner – a generative view rather than a constrained view. We can look at what we call problems as fundamental building blocks in a well-designed life.

The only time I truly experience a problem is in the present – I may worry about a problem occurring at some future date or I may revisit an already solved problem from the past – neither of which allows for experiencing the problem. This temporal relationship is important because the only place I can effectively deal with a problem is in the present.

When experiencing a problem I will almost always look to my past for examples of similar problems with which I have experience. What I’m looking for are the solutions I’ve previously used to solve these past problems. My history is rich with examples of past solutions and I would be foolish not to draw on this experience. I rummage through my bag of experiences and – lo and behold – here is a solution that seems ideally suited to this current problem. I apply this solution and – viola – my problem is solved! However, what I often don’t appreciate is that, in addition to solving my immediate problem, what I’ve also done is created a perpetuating loop. Here’s what I mean by this.

When I went back into my history to find the solution to my current problem I did select the best solution I thought was available to me. In applying that solution I introduced back into my life the dynamics that support the solution – which will almost always include content and a set of sequences that over time will create the same kind of problem once again. It is not an exaggeration to suggest that many of the problems we are currently facing are familiar. Although the specifics are currently different, we have likely experienced this particular class of problem before. This is a function of this perpetuating loop.

The model below illustrates this notion.

 

 

What I want is to not only find a way to solve my current problem but to do so in a way that makes it possible to leave this “class” of problems behind. I want to eventually be dealing with new and different problems. Instead of being a problem solver I want to become highly creative and effective problem creator!

This notion of being a problem creator is counter-intuitive for many so a little explanation is in order. The following model illustrates this process. In this model I still go back in time to find my solution to my current problem. However, instead of selecting a solution with the sole intent of solving the problem I will select a solution that will both solve my problem and move me a step closer to the vision of the future I hold for myself. The inclusion of my vision for my future as a legitimate component to the solution seeking process means that when selecting a solution I must take into account the impact of the solution on my progress in moving toward my vision. If the solution solves the problem but does nothing to move me closer to my vision I don’t use that solution – even though it would solve my problem! Whatever solution I select must meet the dual criteria of both solving the problem and moving me closer to my vision. The net impact of this is that I begin introducing into my life circumstances and content that weren’t there before. The addition of this “new” material into the mix of my life will conspire to produce new problems for me in the future. Problems I've never encountered before. Problems that will challenge me in new ways.

 

It’s important to remember that life comes with problems. One indication of forward progress in life is whether or not I am facing new problems – problems that I have no experience dealing with. Looked at this way I begin to see myself as a problem creator. And, I do so as a choice. Consciously and deliberately.

Intention: The First Step In Meaningful Transformation

You are not the same today as you were when you were a child. The question this statement evokes is "are you who you want to be today?" The follow-on question is "are you living the life you want to be living?" The two questions are inseparable.

The Law of Attraction essentially says that I will attract to me that which I am (which is definitely different than attracting that which I may want). Another way of saying this is that my world and my experience of it is determined by what I bring to it. In order for me to externally realize and experience my ideals I first need to have them be present inside myself. How to do this?

Intention, Attention, Practice, and Guidance

Transformation will naturally occur in life. Mindful transformation is a different undertaking. It begins with intention. Here I'm reminded of the childhood riddle:

"Five frogs sit on a log. Four decide to jump off. How many frogs are left on the log?"

The answer is five. Simply deciding to do something is not the same as doing it. Intention is different than simply deciding. It is the catalytic agent for effective action. It implies some clarity about the "for the sake of what" that compels the action.

Attention is the handmaiden to intention. What I mean by this is that intention is a choice about where I place my awareness. And, because energy follows intention (awareness) I begin to notice what facilitates and what impedes the flow of energy. It's this attention to detail that a shift in awareness facilitates. Attention facilitated by awareness increases the choices I have in my life. And, an increase in choices potentially allows me to be more effective.

I say potentially because poor execution of anything will compromise the quality of the results I'm producing. Practices designed to insure a qualitatively effective repetition of new ways of seeing, thinking, being and behaving are crucial. It is no exaggeration to assert that the way I do anything is the way I do everything. I want to be engaged in practices that are designed to touch the smallest details of my life in ways that help shape them so that they are consistent with my intention. Why? Because I realize there are no "small" things. All aspects of me and my life are the very things that determine the content as well as the trajectory of my life.

Which is why I want effective guidance. I'm practicing all the time - effective and ineffective practices. Indeed, everything I do can be considered a practice, including the way I practice learning. Are my practices enabling me to be as effective as possible? If I practice doing things less than effectively I will not achieve my potential. We all need instruction. How to be better? How to notice the details that a master sees but the novice misses? To practice effectively means to learn effectively.

Transformation is a change in the ways I see the world - and a shift in how I see myself. It is a whole different perception of what's possible.

Some say that my teaching is nonsense.
Others call it lofty but impractical.
But to those who have looked inside themselves,
this nonsense makes perfect sense.
And to those who put into practice,
this loftiness has roots that go deep.
                                    ~ Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

When You Lose Your Vision The World Can't Find You (revisited)

This quote from the Welsh poet David Whyte summarizes the incredible power of a compelling vision. My experience as a coach reinforces my perspective that the word “world” has both internal and external connotations. Some of my clients have lost their mooring – their sense of purpose and direction – and their internal world of self has come into question. For others, their inability to generate a sense in others that they were in the thrall of a compelling vision has resulted in them being overlooked or discounted as players.

We all live in two worlds. We live in an external world that is generally assumed to be populated by all others on the planet. That world has some generalized as well as some culturally specific norms. Very simplistically, these norms are what others use to determine my place in the world from their perspective. Does there seem to be a direction or trajectory to my life that is meaningful in relation to these norms? Where do I belong – in their view – as a consequence of the presence (or lack) of this trajectory/direction? These world of agreement norms literally determine how “others” value me and relate to me.

The other world in which we live is highly and uniquely personal. It is my internal world. It is the world of my sensations, my moods, my feelings, my thoughts, my values, and my experiences. It is the world I reference when I think of “me.”

In order to be able to function effectively in either world there needs to be some sense of belonging (i.e., I am significant, have worth, and/or am noticed) and some sense of trajectory (i.e., I’m going to and/or am contributing to some “what” that is meaningful and worthwhile). It is these two dimensions of belonging and trajectory that a compelling vision empowers and that the "world" resonates with.

The tragedy of losing my vision for my life is not just that I lose touch with that which gives life meaning. I also lose the capacity for "life" to find me. I become isolated, unsure of my ability to make things happen; doubting my worth and questioning the very nature of my existence.

We all need a vision for our life. We need the direction that vision provides; one that culminates in an end point that is really a rally point for the resources I can tap into as I use myself up. And, isn't that the point? To be used up in the pursuit of something I value.