The Habits of Exploration
What we do is based on the habits we have developed. Yes, it is more complicated when you start to dig into it, but at the core, what we experience is based on the choices we make and so the actions we take. The choices we make are dependent on how we see the world. These frames are our mental models and we can see them in the narrative we tell about who we are and what is happening in our lives. The stories we tell create our reality because we make choices based on this story.
We are the authors of our story and the authors of the roles we play in these stories. Which means that the habits we have are just that, things we do because we have always done them.
If you want to have a new experience, then the starting point is to cultivate new habits.
New experiences is what explorers are good at creating and to do that, they excercise 3 core habits.
- Agency – every explorer knows that they have the ability and power to do things, to make choices. They do not get stuck waiting for permission or being told what to do. They are empowered, even when they are in disempowered systems
- Curiosity – every explorer is curious about how things could be. What happens if I do this instead of that ? Why do we do it this way and not that way ? What is over there ?
- Way Finding – every explorer is able to find ways to get moving and to stay moving. If there isn’t a way, they make one.
- Focus – explorers focus on where they want to be and make choices that create that. They keep their eye on the ball.
There are other habits baked into these, such as drive and grit (you have to keep going), but at the heart of exploration is these habits.