Week 4 – The Art of Possibility
I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the concepts in the book. Of course, the authors realized that it would take some work to adopt the ideas that they present, which is why the book doesn’t have chapters, but practices. Like anything that you want to excel at, you and I will need to practice to make these ideas work. I think that I may have to practice a little more than others to get it, but I am tired of the downward spiral. The concept of enrollment and lighting a spark is something that I always wanted to do in the classroom sometimes achieved. The idea that you don’t coerce someone to your point of view, but ignite the same passion to achieve an end is a very powerful idea. It also goes against a lot of what you see in our society with the “you are for us or against us” crowd. When you follow this idea of enrollment, you aren’t dragging someone along with you; you are embarking together on a trip. I have to admit; the “being the board” idea is very difficult for me. One of the problems is my mind constantly pops back to Caddyshack and the “be the ball” scene. The idea of taking responsibility without taking blame or assigning fault goes well outside most of my experiences. Then again, I did have something similar happen to the car crash example happen to me a few years ago. As I was driving, a car came through the median turning lane in the wrong direction (right past the Do Not Enter) sign, and nearly T-boned my car. He clipped the rear of my car and tore the bumper loose, doing some very expensive damage. To say that I was furious might be an understatement, because it was just so dumb. The blame in this instance was very, very obvious to me. Still, driving anywhere has some inherent risks that you have to accept. The area I was driving through has a large population of college students. Young male drivers have higher insurance rates because they tend to do things that are not very safe. I know that there are risks to driving, which is why I have insurance. Thinking about it several years removed, it seems obvious that the particular stretch of road had a higher risk associated with it and that I would have to be aware of it. There is what feels like a Zen quality to the book that I would like to explore further. It is definitely going to take me some time to figure out what the authors are getting at, but I think it may be worthwhile. Like I said before, I am very tired of getting caught in the downward spiral.
My response:
Matt,
Very well thought out post. I am with you on the practices in this book being very hard to implement. It's not a simple read and do. When I think about the stories and practices they seem to hit a nerve so to speak. At one point they are very foreign to my thinking and actions but on the other hand they seem to make perfect sense as well. The example you use of not coercing others but rather igniting their passion is a very powerful message. I think ultimately for me, the practices in the book are to important to ignore even-though they may be a lifelong endeavor.
Best of luck in Month 12!
Very well thought out post. I am with you on the practices in this book being very hard to implement. It's not a simple read and do. When I think about the stories and practices they seem to hit a nerve so to speak. At one point they are very foreign to my thinking and actions but on the other hand they seem to make perfect sense as well. The example you use of not coercing others but rather igniting their passion is a very powerful message. I think ultimately for me, the practices in the book are to important to ignore even-though they may be a lifelong endeavor.
Best of luck in Month 12!
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