The Art of Possibility
Everything in life is a story we choose to tell ourselves. So why wouldn’t we invent a story, a frame, a worldview that helps make ourselves better, make those we touch and the world around us a little bit better too?
If you don’t know who Benjamin ZANDER, the author of this book is, I recommend you watch his TED talk, “The Transformative Power of Classical Music”. Chances are that you will be transformed and transported by classical music, because “Everybody loves classical music - they just haven’t found about it yet”… This great TED talk is an introduction to a no less great book “The Art of Possibility: Transforming Professional and Personal Life” that Benjamin ZANDER co-authored with his wife Rosamund STONE ZANDER.
The ideas and practices in this book have transformative power too - they suggest we look at the world not as a place of scarcity and measurement, but as a universe of possibility. Such change of frame changes everything - be it when we and our schools educate our kids, lead our teams, manage our businesses, etc. Looking at the world and at yourself using the frame of possibility is so powerful. The only thing that can stop us from doing that is a deep fear, ‘who am I to be that powerful?’ But actually, who are we not to be?
My Key Takeaways - Twelve Practices
It's all invented. All of life comes to us in narrative form; it’s a story we tell. SO if it's all invented anyway, so we might as well invent a story or a framework of meaning that enhances our quality of life and the life of those around us. THE PRACTICE A simple way to practice it’s all invented is to ask yourself this question: What assumption am I making, that I’m not aware I’m making, that gives me what I see? And when you have an answer to that question, ask yourself this one: What might I now invent, that I haven’t yet invented, that would give me other choices?
Universe of Possibility. We grow up in a world of measurement, and in this world, we get to know each other and things by measuring them, and by comparing and contrasting them. Let us suppose, now, that a universe of possibility stretches beyond the world of measurement to include all worlds: infinite, generative, and abundant. On the whole, resources are likely to come to you in greater abundance when you are generous and inclusive and engage people in your passion for life. In the measurement world, you set a goal and strive for it. In the universe of possibility, you set the context and let life unfold. So, first, ask yourself: How are my thoughts and actions, in this moment, reflections of the measurement world? And how now? You keep asking the question until you finally appreciate how hopeless it is to escape being shaped by the assumptions that underlie all of life.
Giving an A. The practice of giving an A transports your relationships from the world of measurement into the universe of possibility. An A can be given to anyone in any walk of life—to a waitress, to your employer, to your mother-in-law, to the members of the opposite team, and to the other drivers in traffic. When you give an A, you find yourself speaking to people not from a place of measuring how they stack up against your standards, but from a place of respect that gives them room to realize themselves. Your eye is on the statue within the roughness of the uncut stone. This A is not an expectation to live up to, but a possibility to live into.
Being a Contribution. The drive to be successful and the fear of failure are, like the head and tail of a coin, inseparably linked. They cause us, and those around us, considerable suffering. Of course, the surprising thing was that the increasing success did little to lessen the tension. Unlike success and failure, contribution has no other side. THE PRACTICE The practice of this chapter is inventing oneself as a contribution, and others as well. The steps to the practice are these: 1. Declare yourself to be a contribution. 2. Throw yourself into life as someone who makes a difference, accepting that you may not understand how or why. The contribution game appears to have remarkable powers for transforming conflicts into rewarding experiences.
Leading from Any Chair. The conductor of an orchestra does not make a sound. His picture may appear on the cover of the CD in various dramatic poses, but his true power derives from his ability to make other people powerful. A monumental question for leaders in any organization to consider is: How much greatness are we willing to grant people? Because it makes all the difference at every level who it is we decide we are leading. The activity of leadership is not limited to conductors, presidents, and CEOs, of course—the player who energizes the orchestra by communicating his newfound appreciation for the tasks of the conductor, or a parent who fashions in her own mind that her children desire to contribute, is exercising leadership of the most profound kind.
Rule Number Six. Don’t take yourself so g—damn seriously. And there aren't any other rules.
The Way Things Are. Being present to the way things are is not the same as accepting things as they are in the resigned way of the cow. It doesn’t mean you should drown out your negative feelings or pretend you like what you really can’t stand. It doesn’t mean you should work to achieve some “higher plane of existence” so you can “transcend negativity.” It simply means, being present without resistance: being present to what is happening and present to your reactions, no matter how intense. Presence without resistance: you are now free to turn to the question, “What do we want to do from here?” Our capacity to be present to everything that is happening, without resistance, creates possibility.
Giving Way to Passion. This practice has two steps: 1. The first step is to notice where you are holding back, and let go. Release those barriers of self that keep you separate and in control, and let the vital energy of passion surge through you, connecting you to all beyond. 2. The second step is to participate wholly. Allow yourself to be a channel to shape the stream of passion into a new expression for the world.
Lighting a Spark. Enrollment is the practice of this chapter. Enrolling is not about forcing, cajoling, tricking, bargaining, pressuring, or guilt-tripping someone into doing something your way. Enrollment is the art and practice of generating a spark of possibility for others to share. The steps to the practice are: 1. Imagine that people are an invitation for enrollment. 2. Stand ready to participate, willing to be moved and inspired. 3. Offer that which lights you up. 4. Have no doubt that others are eager to catch the spark.
Being the Board. When the way things are seems to offer no possibility; when you are angry and blocked, and, for all your efforts, others refuse to move or cooperate, to compromise, or even to be halfway decent; when even enrollment does not work and you are at your wit’s end—you can take out this next practice: our graduate course in possibility. In this one, you rename yourself as the board on which the whole game is being played. You move the problematic aspect of any circumstance from the outside world inside the boundaries of yourself. With this act, you can transform the world.
Creating Frameworks for Possibility. The practice is to invent and sustain frameworks that bring forth possibility. It is about restructuring meanings, creating visions, and establishing environments where possibility is spoken—where the buoyant force of possibility overcomes the pull of the downward spiral. The steps to the practice of framing possibility are 1. Make a new distinction in the realm of possibility: one that is a powerful substitute for the current framework of meaning that is generating the downward spiral. 2. Enter the territory. Embody the new distinction in such a way that it becomes the framework for life around you.3. Keep distinguishing what is “on the track” and what is “off the track” of your framework for possibility.
Telling the WE Story. The steps are these: 1. Tell the WE story—the story of the unseen threads that connect us all, the story of possibility. 2. Listen and look for the emerging entity. 3. Ask: “What do WE want to have happened here?” “What’s best for US?”—all of each of us, and all of all of us. “What’s OUR next step?” The transformation from the “I” to the WE is the last practice and the long line of this book: the intentional, ongoing dissolution of the barriers that divide us, so that we may be reshaped as a unique voice in the ever-evolving chorus of the WE.