Patterns in our thinking

We see patterns in fabrics, in nature and in design and architecture. 

Patterns exist in many other parts of our world: 
The time we wake up. 
How we behave. 
The actions we take. 
The way we tackle and complete tasks. 

Some of the patterns that go unnoticed - or at least under noticed - are the patterns in our thinking. 

How we solve problems. 
How we learn. 
How we make sense of things. 

If we’re unaware of our thinking patterns, were less able to change them to ways that will work for us. 

First we can get better at noticing. It’s turning up our powers of observation, taking note, capturing an insight, connecting the dots. 

This is Sensemaking and it’s a powerful skill in these times of change and uncertainty. 

Where are the patterns in your thinking? What do you see and notice? What dots can you connect?

The better we are at observing and identifying patterns, the easier it becomes to interrupt them, in pursuit of better ways of working. 

“I love your stuff Lynne,” they said.

What is our stuff? 

It’s our perspective. It’s what we think and how we package that up to share it with others. 

It’s how we express ideas and how we explain things, our views and values and experiences. 

It’s also our MO - modus operandi or our way, our method of doing things. 

So ... what’s yours? 
Have you thought about it? 
Are you already working on it? 
And do you share it?

The need for us to declare who we are and what we believe is on the rise: there is the growth of personal branding, sole business operators, your name dot com, individuals as brands and the opportunities available to share our stuff via social media profiles. 

Even if you don’t run your own show, having a profile and sharing your stuff helps build a body of your ideas, thinking and work that can help you carve out your career.

Do you know what your stuff is? And have you worked on it recently?

Explore your thinking - remember to act

If we’re the only creatures on earth who can think about how they think ... how well do we use that power? 

Because it is a power. It’s one of the greatest reflections we have available to us. 

To pause and think ... ‘wow, I wonder why or how I think about things?’

This can send us into a thinking vortex though, where we just keep thinking about thinking about thinking!

Some reflection is good but then what? 

When we are Sensemaking and not just thinking, we get to shift to some action. 

1. What’s going on here
2. What do I need to do about it
3. Now do it

If we are caught up in the first question of ‘what’s going on here’ ... analysis paralysis can be never ending. 

The second question - now we are getting somewhere - is, ‘what do I need to do about it?’ 

Here is the bias towards us taking an action. 

Thinking. 
Thinking. 
Now do it. 

...

...

...


Umm.... but then we return to thinking mode again to ‘work it out’ or ‘understand what’s going on’ or ‘run scenarios’ - more thinking. 

The ‘now do it’ gives us the opportunity to see what happens as a result of our actions. 

THEN we get some new stuff to think about ... but at least we have advanced.

Think ... sure. 
Now act. 

Sensemaking as a way of coping and understanding

If overwhelm, stress or uncertainty creeps up and dumps on you, get out a pen and paper... and map it all out. 

- Map out the overwhelm: what’s going on?  

- Map out the stress: what’s happening - what are you thinking about? 

- Map out the uncertainty: what do you know and what could you do about that? 

Rather than endless thinking thinking thinking, sensemaking can help because it involves the visualization of what can seem like a mess of information. 

We’re able to get perspective on where we are and what’s going on so it begins to make more sense to us. 

It doesn’t need to be fancy. 

A simple page of shapes, lines and words can be enlightening and uplifting. 

There are no rules. Your map doesn’t have to be a certain way. 

It’s the act of making a map that helps get the tangle out of your internal mind and out onto an external page. 

Sensemaking is one of the key capabilities of adaptability : to be able to respond to and deal with change. 

If we don’t map to make sense of things, they don’t make sense no matter how much thinking we do. 

Strange times call for new ideas

When the Institute for the Future called out ‘novel and adaptive thinking’ as one of those skills we’d need right about now ... do ya think they knew just how much we’d need it?

The use of the word ‘novel’ may have become a little tainted (you know, the novel coronavirus and all).

So could we say unique? Or clever? 

The thing is, these strange times call for new and quite different ideas. 

We know the clichéd group brainstorming thing doesn’t work. 

We’re better off keeping an ideas book, capturing flashes of brilliance as they arrive. 

Or getting hands-on with an idea and prototyping it, to see how well it actually works. Although getting as practical as we can as soon as we can is a totally new concept for some people. 

- Part of a team? 
Know how to bring your clever. 

- Leading a team?
Know how to bring the clever out in others. 

- Running your own show? 
Look for opportunities to use your clever .... anywhere, any time. 

Almost anything goes!

These strange times need our unusual ideas and thinking. Be braver about that. 

Hold on the judgement that what you’re thinking isn’t ‘good enough’. 

We won’t know the value of an idea ... until it’s put into practice anyway.