A Sequence of Attention
If you’re struggling to infuse even a little more creativity into how you live your life, or do your job (or both), I want to share what came out of my wondering about two different kinds of questions.
I was wrestling with a challenging situation: do I continue to pursue this particular project or back off? What would be the results of either choice? Was I willing to make a choice and live with the consequences?
As I was in the shower (my favorite place for getting new ideas), I started wondering how could I ask a question that would take me to the heart of what I needed?
And there were two ways I could ask. I could start with “what is…” or I could start with “what if…?”
As the warm water of the shower encouraged me to let my mind go where it might, two very different approaches occurred to me. They made it clear there were two components to the answer I was searching for. And both of them brought a clarity that hadn’t been there when I was worrying about how to make the decision I needed.
The first starting point: “What is..” It brings us right into the present moment, not jumping ahead for a solution. It asks us to look directly at what’s here right now. No assumptions. “What is” invites us to ask, what’s true? What’s happening? What's the situation, or pattern, or set of facts in front of us?
I realized that before searching for a solution, I need to be grounded in three conditions: reality, recognition and description. With this kind of clarity through direct observation, it could bring me into contact with what’s here and now.
“What is” asks for honesty—before imagination and solution seeking. It's an effective way to keep us from jumping too quickly into fixing or fantasizing about what’s actually present.
And then it occurred to me: starting a question with “what if..” is less about what already exists and more about what might exist. Whatever story we have about our situation is given permission to loosen its grip. If we’re thinking we’re in a stuck place (which means it’s a problem), it may instead be a threshold or doorway into someplace where new ideas can occur.
As an example, “what if” suggests that the answer you’re seeking may not be solved by more thinking but by making something. Rearranging the pieces of the puzzle. Seeing different relationships or consequences. And that means that whatever feelings you have about your circumstances may be pointing you in a direction that’s worth acknowledging.
This is how “what if” points you towards possibility, hypothesis and imagination. “What is” gives you a solid starting point by grounding you in the actual conditions now while ”what if” invites you into a creative relationship with your as-yet unseen future and the solution you’re after.
The beauty of this distinction is that it’s all about sequencing: letting the question,”what’s really here” gives you an actual read of what’s present so that the next question, “what if,” enables you to respond with more imagination and sense of possibility.
It’s the difference between witnessing and creating.
What’s so interesting about this distinction is that the commonly held idea of creativity as a flash of inspiration may be just one option. The other option, perhaps more easily accessible, is a sequence of attention.
There’s something so freeing when we’re willing to simply see what our circumstances actually are that we’re hoping to shift. Seeing without forcing any specific meaning or outcome presumes only certain steps can be taken.
But that’s never true.
I know for myself how eager I can be to jump to a solution that I skip over paying attention to what’s present.
But when I’m clear about what’s right in front of me without assuming the consequences, then I can shift into imagination mode. That’s when it becomes a real-time response to reality. If I really stop to see what is, then my mind can begin to play with alternatives. Notice I use the word play rather than force or fall back on familiar choices.
Dissatisfaction and limitation can be useful information. We can participate in dissecting and rearranging what’s already here. This is when creativity become participation in a larger process, a dialogue with what else is possible.
Using this sequence of "what is”, then “what if” reveals something important: creativity begins with noticing then responding. And it explains why many of us stay stuck when we jump too quickly to the “what if”. That's when we end up trying to stack possibilities on top of assumptions rather than the truth of what our situation really is.
By using this sequence myself, I was able to relax, record and then reorder my options. I gained a new respect for the idea that creativity is the movement between seeing and responding.
What would change for you if you tried this?
I was wrestling with a challenging situation: do I continue to pursue this particular project or back off? What would be the results of either choice? Was I willing to make a choice and live with the consequences?
As I was in the shower (my favorite place for getting new ideas), I started wondering how could I ask a question that would take me to the heart of what I needed?
And there were two ways I could ask. I could start with “what is…” or I could start with “what if…?”
As the warm water of the shower encouraged me to let my mind go where it might, two very different approaches occurred to me. They made it clear there were two components to the answer I was searching for. And both of them brought a clarity that hadn’t been there when I was worrying about how to make the decision I needed.
The first starting point: “What is..” It brings us right into the present moment, not jumping ahead for a solution. It asks us to look directly at what’s here right now. No assumptions. “What is” invites us to ask, what’s true? What’s happening? What's the situation, or pattern, or set of facts in front of us?
I realized that before searching for a solution, I need to be grounded in three conditions: reality, recognition and description. With this kind of clarity through direct observation, it could bring me into contact with what’s here and now.
“What is” asks for honesty—before imagination and solution seeking. It's an effective way to keep us from jumping too quickly into fixing or fantasizing about what’s actually present.
And then it occurred to me: starting a question with “what if..” is less about what already exists and more about what might exist. Whatever story we have about our situation is given permission to loosen its grip. If we’re thinking we’re in a stuck place (which means it’s a problem), it may instead be a threshold or doorway into someplace where new ideas can occur.
As an example, “what if” suggests that the answer you’re seeking may not be solved by more thinking but by making something. Rearranging the pieces of the puzzle. Seeing different relationships or consequences. And that means that whatever feelings you have about your circumstances may be pointing you in a direction that’s worth acknowledging.
This is how “what if” points you towards possibility, hypothesis and imagination. “What is” gives you a solid starting point by grounding you in the actual conditions now while ”what if” invites you into a creative relationship with your as-yet unseen future and the solution you’re after.
The beauty of this distinction is that it’s all about sequencing: letting the question,”what’s really here” gives you an actual read of what’s present so that the next question, “what if,” enables you to respond with more imagination and sense of possibility.
It’s the difference between witnessing and creating.
What’s so interesting about this distinction is that the commonly held idea of creativity as a flash of inspiration may be just one option. The other option, perhaps more easily accessible, is a sequence of attention.
There’s something so freeing when we’re willing to simply see what our circumstances actually are that we’re hoping to shift. Seeing without forcing any specific meaning or outcome presumes only certain steps can be taken.
But that’s never true.
I know for myself how eager I can be to jump to a solution that I skip over paying attention to what’s present.
But when I’m clear about what’s right in front of me without assuming the consequences, then I can shift into imagination mode. That’s when it becomes a real-time response to reality. If I really stop to see what is, then my mind can begin to play with alternatives. Notice I use the word play rather than force or fall back on familiar choices.
Dissatisfaction and limitation can be useful information. We can participate in dissecting and rearranging what’s already here. This is when creativity become participation in a larger process, a dialogue with what else is possible.
Using this sequence of "what is”, then “what if” reveals something important: creativity begins with noticing then responding. And it explains why many of us stay stuck when we jump too quickly to the “what if”. That's when we end up trying to stack possibilities on top of assumptions rather than the truth of what our situation really is.
By using this sequence myself, I was able to relax, record and then reorder my options. I gained a new respect for the idea that creativity is the movement between seeing and responding.
What would change for you if you tried this?