Lesson 1
The woods are never solitary
– they are full of whispering, beckoning, friendly life.
LM Montgomery
Ready, steady… and we’re away! Your Great Adventure [1] is underway! It’ll be fun they said. Wry smile.
What will yours look like? Will it be like Painting by Numbers? With a clear picture and instructions as to where and what to paint? Probably not. You wouldn’t be here if you knew both the destination and the pathway.
Will it be like Making a Movie? You know how to plot the path, what resources you’ll need and what the journey may look like. You have some tools, some experience, so you could follow a tried pathway, but where to go? You don’t have a good idea of what the outcome might be, what it looks like on the other side of the forest. The destination is quite fuzzy, perhaps there’s not even a light shining through the trees.
Alternatively, you may know exactly where you want to be but you’ve never done this before. You don’t even know if you have the right resources, or enough. Tools? Which ones will work? Where to find them? Then let’s go on a Grand Quest!
Oh no, I hear you say, what if you’re not sure of either! You’re totally In the Fog, it’s not clear at all. In fact, you’re not even sure how to begin. And that’s fine too. It could be an immense change of mammoth proportions. A giant red sequoia if you like!
Describe your forest and its trees (however you like, this is a ‘no rules’ creative question)?
What kind of journey are you on?
Paint by numbers, Making a movie, a Grand Quest, or Fumbling in the fog [2]. Which one is it, and why?
Is this your choice or will it happen anyway?
How much control do you have over the timing?
How much Divine influence do you have over the whole process and end point? What are your prayers?
Is there a conflict or are there choices in this?
Describe the conflict
Describe the uncertainty.
What are the choices?
Risks – probability and impact
Is this prospect of grand change all rather daunting? If it is, that’s reality and it’s ok to be at least a little apprehensive. It’s also fine to be frightened out of your wits. Believe me, that’s quite normal.
Life is not without risk and transitions are dangerous doorways that scare most of us to some extent.
Unless we are totally foolish. I’ve been there too, scraping the gravel out of my knees after I tripped and fell hard. So, while this is a call to be brave, it is no less a call to be wise too, and to go as fast or as slowly as needed, as you feel comfortable with.
Describe some of the risks and downsides of both the journey and the outcome:
These are what need to be managed along the way. How likely is each one to occur – give it a mark out of 10. What would the impact be?
Disaster gets a 10, while a minor inconvenience gets a 2.
A Last Note
If you find these questions difficult, then don’t be too concerned, we’ll work on them, week by week. Remember it’s the nature of a discovery process to take some time. Use your first tool to give yourself some strength!
References:
[1] If you enjoy country music, Steven Curtis Chapman has a fun song of the same name. Your Great Adventure.
[2] Eddie Obeng is the author of these project descriptors in his book Putting Strategy to Work