“Ready or not, here I come!”

I think this could be my personal catch-phrase this year. Bold, exuberant, playful, comfortable, audacious, and free from the self-diminishing constraints of playing by someone else’s rules, requesting someone else’s permission, or asking someone else for directions.

My key to Block’s second chapter is realizing that, “we name the debate by the questions we choose.”

I am central to what sort of opportunities are available to the unfolding of my own story. If I frame the plot as linear and scripted by the system, then I have prejudiced and limited my own possibilities.

If I frame the plot as open and not fully imagined until I contribute myself to the process, then the possibilities are unlimited.

If I am looking for the rules, or permission or instructions then I have given away my birthright, so to speak, without anyone even having to steal it from me.

How can anyone else answer whether there is a place for me at the table? The longer I wait for an invitation, the longer I wait.

The second insight from this chapter that resonated deeply with me has to do with the willingness “to address questions that we know have no answer.”

Open-ended questions versus yes-no questions, I understand. Open-ended questions for which there is not definitive answer? That blow my mind a bit.

It’s the exploration that has the value, not the final answer. To find the answer is to end the exploration, hence the value of complex, probing, reflective questions that facilitate the exploration.

The third whammy to my gut came when Block asserted, “What keeps us stuck is the belief that someone or something else needs to change before we can move forward.”

It’s is very difficult to make room for the possibility that many of my frustrations with others, the closed networks, and how experts are credentialed for example, may be excuses I’m using to let myself off the hook.

It’s a valid point. Am I a spectator hoping someone will invite me into the game, or am I a player stepping forward and creating a place in the line-up for myself?

Can I say it and mean it? “Ready or not, here I come!”

Which of Block’s six reframed questions did you find the most helpful? Challenging? What was your main take-away from this chapter?

Each week I post my reflections from one chapter of The Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block. My reflections are my own and are intended to generate conversation, catalyze additional thinking and encourage mutual learning.
If you are just joining the discussion now, welcome! Catch up on the entire series here.

This entry was posted on Friday, June 17th, 2011 at 2:30 pm and is filed under Answer to How is Yes by Peter Block. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.