Opus Day 16: Bring Imagination to Failure

[Barque]

"We deal with the threat of chaos by imposing a known order on it, and that order is usually habitual, ingrained, and defensive. It protects a person from dealing with the new and the unexpected. Bad decisions usually stem from the failure to see the full expanse of life in front of us. Our habits of interpretation are like blinders.

Sometimes a job or career runs into trouble because it is a bad fit, but often we fail because our imaginations can’t grasp the richness of the possibilities. Especially at times of big decision making, our attention may be focused too narrowly. Our understanding of the way life works is limited, until we make enough mistakes to know better. But there are never enough mistakes to equal the possibilities.

In failing, we get to know new territory. We’re forced to consider options that we never had to imagine before because everything was settled and the future clear. Now, with failure, we have to picture a wide range of options. We may be doing all of this in a state of anxiety, but the imagination opens up nevertheless.”

Today’s Work: Explore ways to shift from reacting with “habits of interpretation” to an imaginative openness toward the new and unexpected.

Share your responses with Barque readers, by replying to this discussion.

[Dr. Robert Klass]

It seems to me that the word "failure" has certain negative connotations that go with it. I have a friend who is a pastor on a poor part of Oahu, and he once told me that most people look at conditions such as homelessness and see problems. He told me that when he looked at them, he saw opportunities. Rather than being a negative, we can look at our failures...and let's face it...we often fail at many things in our lives because we didn't really want to be doing them in the first place...as opportunities to move in new directions and become better human beings. Aloha, Bob

[Barque]

Hi Bob,
Perhaps we can accept negative connotations associated with failure and move in new directions as opportunities. In this passage, Moore mentions imagining the richness of possibilities and picturing a wide range of options.

[Dr. Robert Klass]

Thanks for the response. I totally agree. I also think that we might consider how long we decide to accept the negative connotations associated with failure before we move to the opportunities. I don't know about you, but I have an everyday struggle to get my head out of the negative. In my experience, it's much easier to consider the richness of possibilities and the wide range of options when my head is in a more positive space. It's nice to hear from you!