11:11 Waves Blog 33: Another

Every Monday, I share 1 question for you to contemplate, 1 idea from me, 1 quote from others, and 1 inspiration for us.

This week’s topic is: Another

Remember the tv series “LOST”? Last week, I started to re-watch this mysterious television phenomenon of the 2000s. Season one starts with the aftermath of a plane crash, which leaves surviving passengers of Oceanic Airlines Flight 815 on what seems to be a deserted tropical island. Few days after the crash, the survivors started to organize themselves. Very quickly a leader emerged, work was allocated, shifts were established, decisions were made in isolation for the greater good – essentially the survivors were driven to re-create a type of society that was familiar to them. While this approach could be described as a natural reflex in such atypical emergency situation, I was always fascinated by this decision and wondered what the possibilities could have been if they would have approached all of this more creatively – looking for another way of doing, living and being together - rather than trying to replicate a hierarchical and bureaucratic system that was already in place in their previous lives.

One Question for you

While looking for “another way” - one can find solutions that sometimes are invisible to us.

Discuss the question here.

One Idea from me

This week I invite you to participate in a challenge, reflect on a concept and explore a practice related to the concept of “another way”.

The challenge: This week I invite you to pick a situation where you need to make a decision and explore “another way”. A great way to do this is by reflecting on some hypothetical questions. Hypothetical questions are questions that usually start with “What would you do if…?”, “How would you go about this if…?” and allow an individual to explore something out of context and therefore come to a conclusion completely unencumbered by the complex reality of the situation. Click here for a list of creative, fun and thought-provoking hypothetical questions.

The concept: This week I invite you to explore the concept of “system thinking” - an alternative and holistic approach to analysis which focuses on the way that a system’s parts interconnect (conceptually and physically) with one another. System thinking is concerned with expanding our awareness to see the relationships between parts and wholes rather than looking at just discrete, isolated parts. To learn more about this concept, check out this article called: Systems Thinking and How it Can Help Build a Sustainable World. I promise you that, after reading this article, you too will be left to wonder about how the LOST Survivors could have organized themselves differently if they would have applied some of these tools.

The practice: When we are given a problem our reflex is to find answers. At times, it can be difficult to leave the comfort zone and to come up with creative options and alternatives. This week I invite you to explore “reverse brainstorming” and challenge yourself to generate as many questions as possible for a given situation. Instead of brainstorming solutions, brainstorm questions from alternative angles. After the brainstorming is completed, have a look at the questions collected and when a specific question sparks your attention and leads you to innovative ideas, follow this path.

One Quote from others

“If you excessively concentrate on a closed door, you may miss the alternative easy entries” Mehmet Murat Ildan

One Inspiration for us

This week I am sharing a free MOOC developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology called U-Lab: Leading from the emerging future. This self-paced course is a great introduction to leading profound social, environmental and personal transformation in “another way”. The modules introduce you to a method called Theory U for leading change in business, government and civil society contexts worldwide. This alternative approach to change enables individuals and groups to co-pioneer new approaches to today’s most important social challenges. I took this course few years ago and I highly recommend it!