Let's Go Swimming: Curious Exploration
As humans, we love making choices, having agency, feeling in control. Yet we don't always seize the control we have and take action. Why?
In reality there could be lots of reasons to not make an intentional choice. Often the choices we resist the most are the ones that feel most nebulous, difficult or overwhelming. Sometimes it feels easier to pretend the choice isn't right there in front of us, to get under the metaphorical covers and hide in bed rather than face the daylight.
The funny thing I’ve learned about choices, though, is that not making a choice is also a choice. Not taking action is also a choice. Letting the river flow and seeing where the current takes us is also a choice.
With Curious Exploration on the brain, this activity is all about getting curious and exploring what not’s working in our lives: the stuff/people/decisions we avoid, the obstacles that drive us nuts and slow us down, even the mental/emotional drains that we’d rather pretend are not there. After all, how can we take steps to make confidence choices if we don't first acknowledge what's not working?
Download “Swimming with the Fishes” here.
This may not sound fun - but the amazing thing about naming what’s not working is that it very quickly loses its intensity. Put into coaching terms, “what we resist, persists… but what we name won’t remain.” Which means that by finally acknowledging that elephant in the room (or, in the case of our activity, the fish that stinks), we can begin to take action to get it off our plate.
By the end of this activity, you'll not only have a better understanding of a crucial challenge you're facing, but you'll have the beginnings of a to-do list to help you resolve that pain point and move forward confidently.
Instead of shying away from “the tough stuff,” I hope you’ll join me in getting curious and exploring these hard things head on. Yes, hard stuff is hard, but hard stuff is so worth it – especially when we’re talking about the future of our lives!
Onward,
