Experiment: Stepping Stones
Musing…
"A hunch is creativity trying to tell you something. "~ Frank Capra
A hunch is like a little nudge – infuse it with curiosity,
and it leads you to the next step to explore. Of course, with every new step, fear is on the sidelines, warning
you of impending mistakes or failures. When you allow yourself to be pulled forward by the energy of the hunch,
you learn to incorporate those “mistakes” (or what I prefer to call them, “fortunate accidents”) into your creative path. James Joyce said “A man’s errors are his portals of
discovery.” Follow your hunches
and use the “mistakes” as stepping stones to lead you forward.
Kate’s Turn:
I have
been following my hunches regarding creating work I love. I have planted seeds in my
conversations as I speak about my passion for creativity. And some take root; for example, a person wants to explore their own creative process, and so
enters into coaching with me. I
have an idea (hunch) about how my work can take form, and so investigate many
options, based on my hunches; some
sprout, but quickly expire; others seem to grow for a longer time but fade; and
still others bear fruit. Following
these hunches could be called trial and error. Statistics tell us that only about one third of experiments
work out. So follow many, many
hunches to an eventual creative form.
Simultaneously, I am aware of fear on the sidelines, as I consider following a hunch. I see how easily I am willing to try something I already have familiarity with, such as the one-to-one coaching format. But I see how I become a “shrinking violet” to fear as I shy away from a format that promises a learning curve, such as public speaking or leading webinars. I am facing my fear of public speaking by getting support in Toastmasters and learning from my mistakes. I’ve gotten feedback that I have a radio voice presence and should consider doing a podcast. My next stepping stone will be to find a mentor who can support me as I’m on the learning curve of internet technology. I know I need to frame this risk as a learning experience – “let’s just try this and see what happens” – rather than a perfected performance, where fear has the upper hand in paralyzing me into non-action. When I have support and when the steps are feasible, I can ease the tension between a hunch and my fear, and better listen to the something creativity is trying to tell me.
Get Fired Up:
Our entire
life is one big experiment to see how the world works – we need to be open to
try new things even when results are uncertain…we get many opportunities to
respond to unexpected results and learn from them.
What do you need in order to follow your hunches so you take the next step? What learning can you attain from “mistakes” or experiments that didn’t result the way you had imagined?
What do you need in order to follow your hunches so you take the next step? What learning can you attain from “mistakes” or experiments that didn’t result the way you had imagined?
“The price of inaction is far
greater than the cost of making a mistake.” ~ Meister Eckhart, 14th century theologian
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