What’s Next: Design Your Journey
Last July, a group of educators joined together to participate in a first time L+D workshop called, “Write Your Journey.” All were in a place of reflection–and wanted to carve out time to explore, write and reflect on where they were at a particular stage of their journeys. Many were at crossroads–changing jobs, starting somewhere fresh, retiring, moving within a role at school or considering another personal shift in their lives–and we provided the container for reflection and time to dive deep into the where and the why. Feedback from this seminal group led us to probe the needs we learned about for expanding our focus from reflective writing to the broader questions raised about transitions—in, around and out of roles, schools, stages in our careers and lives. What we heard and learned is there’s a need to provide support for exploration of “what’s next?”
Below we explore what curiosity about oneself looks like—and how we might pay more attention to a wide variety of options about our lives instead of searching for “the answer.”
Why should you be curious about yourself? “Diversive Curiosity” at work
Crystal: In a recent Atlantic Monthly article, Arthur C. Brooks writes about what he calls, “late bloomers,” or those who find their direction or passions as life evolves. Brooks uses a term in his article I find expansive. He raises the concept of, “diversive curiosity”—or what psychologists call the ability to wander into a broad range of interests in a manner that seems to have no rhyme or reason. According to Brooks, “They walk through life like a curious person browsing through a bookstore.” I really love this concept and can relate to the bookstore metaphor. Although I had and have many interests and hobbies, my career path was more linear and traditional—teacher to student dean to Admissions Director to Asst Head to Head of School. In retrospect, it was a wonderful path that worked well for me and my family, but it was not overtly planned; it just unfolded. I was also lucky enough to engage in a wide range of facilitation, writing and professional work beyond my school so I had the gift of a broader perspective. I almost went down the PhD route at one point but instead enrolled in mid-life in a summer Master’s Degree program at the Breadloaf School of English at Middlebury College. That was one of the most invigorating and refreshing choices I made to enhance and open up the creative side of myself. And, as rich as this path was, I also wonder what might have unfolded if I had tried something different? Is the career path I chose to follow the only one that would have brought me fulfillment and success?
I have become more curious in recent years, though, about multiple pathways. In the fantastical and fabulous film, “Everything, Everywhere All at Once,” the characters are thrown into the multiverse and are forced to explore the concept of “what if?” What if I was kinder today? What if I embrace the parts of myself that I don’t want to acknowledge? What if I stepped off this particular path and moved to a different part of the country–changed jobs more—retired early—taught kindergarten instead of high school—moved to an international school I’ve always dreamed of—worked less—worked differently? The idea of more wandering in the bookstore and exploring different pathways is one that may allow us to dream big and then scale accordingly? In our work with schools on strategic plans, schedules and missions, we often look at what we call “moonshots” before we settle on more realistic options. What if we created more moonshots for our lives?
What do you think about this, Shu Shu?
Shu Shu: What an interesting prompt, Crystal! My career path has not been so linear. As a child, I thought I would be a teacher like my father, but in college, I became interested and did some work in TV journalism. Upon graduation, I chose instead to get a job in print and magazine journalism because it allowed me the option to work closer to home for my yet-to-arrive children. After spending a decade in journalism, publishing two books, and staying at home with my three kids for a few years, I ended up back in education. To Brooks’ analogy, I guess I picked up the first book, put it back down for a time, but ended up going back and choosing it anyway! But I don’t for a moment regret my work as a journalist and a writer. I come to my current work in schools and leadership with a slightly different perspective and skill set. For example, I am a great believer in storytelling and the use of stories to explore both our outer world and inner life. Empathy is an important part of both journalism and education, and it has been useful to practice empathy in multiple places.
And I’m exploring again: I’m more than halfway through a masters program in social justice at a seminary. Attending divinity school was a hidden wish (hidden from me, at least!) and has been a totally delightful surprise. Like picking up a book that you never knew you longed for, yet there it is. What new universe might this unveil?
Why are these transitions important touch points to pay attention to?
Crystal: In Designing Your Life, the authors Bill Burnett and Dave Evans write, “Working with adults of all ages, we’ve found where people go wrong (regardless of their age, education or career path) is thinking they need to come with a single plan for their lives and it will be smooth sailing. If only they make the right choice (italics mine), they will have a blueprint for who they will be, and how they will live…..in reality life is more of an abstract painting —one that’s open to multiple interpretations.” What if we took time to come up with several options for what the “next” stage might look like, and did so with intentionality? Using the principles of human-centered design, how might we prototype several possibilities?
Burnett and Evan’s provide an intriguing model. They suggest “Odyssey Planning” through the creation of three life paths:
Life One: That Thing You Do–create a plan for an idea you already have in mind (or are doing)
Life Two: That thing you’d do if thing one was suddenly gone (your job, a move, a change in circumstances)
Life Three: What you’d do if money or image were no object (what are alternatives that you might dream of!)
By taking the time to push yourself out of your comfort zones (and traditional boxes), you might just find a few new ways forward.
Shu Shu: Love that! Here’s another way to think about it. One of my mentors, Judy Brown, author of A Leader’s Guide to Reflective Practice, talks about the Rule of Six. She says we (in Western culture, especially) are quick to move to binaries. Either this or that. I should stay in my job or I should leave. Brown offers this idea from an Indigenous tradition: instead of thinking about The Plan, think through six different pathways that have some possibilities. For example, I could leave a job or stay at my job. That’s two. Or, I could stay and take some courses in an area that interests me. That’s three. Or, I could stay at my job and shadow a person who does something I want to know more about. That’s four. You get the picture.
The key is that you won’t necessarily choose one of your six options. What you do is keep all six open as you gather more data about those possibilities. Along the way, you might find that you’re drawn to one path more than others. Or that one path has more options than other ones. Or that one path doesn’t feel quite as right. The Rule of Six helps keep us open to possibility; it helps keep us curious and listening deeply to ourselves. I am sure there are a multitude of paths I can take. But this quote by philosopher Frederick Buechner keeps me grounded: “The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”
What are the “ways in” as one thinks about transition and change?
Shu Shu: That quote always has me wondering, “Where are the places of my ‘deep gladness’”? It shouldn’t be such a hard question to answer. Around new year, right around the time when people were talking about new year’s resolutions, a friend passed me this blog post by Leadership Freak about the five questions one should ask before setting goals for 2025. The questions—there were more than just five—asked about places that extend your values, aspirations, and talents. There were questions like, “What do you see that others frequently miss?” Or, “What is true of you that causes people to seek your advice or perspective?” Or, “What activities cause time to fly by?”
Giving myself time to muse on these questions is hard in my day to day life. Having good questions helps, as does finding meaning and metaphors in art or nature. I once did an exercise of taking a question with me on a walk outside. Freed from my to-do list, I began looking anew at my surroundings and amazingly found my answer in two different trees growing out of one stump. (A story for another time!) Wandering through a museum in a similar frame of mind, I found great solace and inspiration from a painting that seemed to embody exactly how I felt and literally reframed my next steps. (It was a Picasso, unsurprisingly!)
There is also a great sense of camaraderie and adventure when you gather with others who are also asking these big, transformative questions. It’s a gift to be with a group of people who will listen carefully to your stories, to what you’re saying and also what you’re not saying, and help you hear your own truth, as Quaker philosopher and educator Parker Palmer would say.
Crystal: I find that physical places can be transformative in opening oneself to change. Taking time—perhaps forcing time—in retreat, in inspirational places and with a set of tools allows me ways into reflection. I just returned from my first ever yoga retreat. I spent six days slowing down, practicing yoga and taking time to do the deeper and more meditative writing and reflection I don’t have time for during the busyness of the year.
Additionally, I’ve always been a big journal writer. One recent addition I've started is returning to previous journals to use as inspiration for pushing my thinking, asking new questions and creating other ideas for ways forward. It’s one way to look for patterns, insights and themes in my life as I consider how I want to shape the years ahead. I really believe that as we each consider the future holds, it doesn’t have to be a big change, a career change or a physical change. It can also be an internal or mindset shift.
As this new year begins, what exactly do you want to do? As Burnett and Evans write: “This life you are living is one of many lives you will live.” Maybe it’s time to explore the multiple versions of YOU?
How might I consider a transition to “what’s next?” in my life?
How might I make a change in my current place of work noting the particular skills needed to navigate change internally in an organization.
How might I dream big for the 2.0, 3.0 stage of life. What might it look like, feel like? What kinds of risks can I take?
How might I “end well” in my current role? How might I enter into my next role, job or stage?
What kinds of human-centered design skills will help me “design my life”?
Join us in Santa Fe to explore what “diversive curiosity” might look like for you.
