016: A reflection of key ideas

453 words.

Nearing the end of 2022 Q3, I feel the need to take stock of progress. With a commitment to generate, implement and share good ideas, an interesting mini-project would be to articulate a set of key ideas that I hold dear, but may not have the vocabulary or the discipline to generate content handles for.

The power of a name is immense. A well-christened name gives it memorability, because what use is an idea if it is not remembered. Yet, that is only one of the first few steps for an idea to be truly effective. It needs to effect change, by changing the actions taken by either an individual or a community.

The name gives an idea definition, such that people can point it at it and refer to it through their shared understanding. That is when the idea starts to become a tool to be used to convince or to create. All the more so when a community is needed to create change via this idea.

Above all, ideation has no capacity of effect change without the vehicle of execution carrying it into reality. Many ideas have been borne of creative shower thoughts or inspired sparks in conversations, but it takes a certain activation energy to resume the execution of that idea to reality.

Going to the desire to articulate key ideas, let us sally forth then:

1. Reality is effecting change. Specifically, some change in behaviour that otherwise would not have happened. We spend a lot of time and energy generating thoughts, but they often are not accompanied by the necessary energy to design and execute.
2. Thinking and learning is creating. Something that applies more to work. With the obligation of guide learning, I find the most effective method is to have the learners create their own solution to a posed problem. Only when they encounter challenges and begin to design workarounds, then true learning takes places.
3. Empower, then get out of their way. This appears in context of both student leadership, and guiding other volunteers. They already have passion (filling them to the brim with energy). What is left is to point them in the right direction, give them the things they need, and let them create their own magic.

Frankly speaking, it’s a little disappointing to stop here. That shows a lack of fruit in the labour of reading all those and doing summaries.

There is some reflection to be done. How can there be ‘translation’ and ‘reshaping’ of the concepts discovered, instead of taking them verbatim? It’s like I have copied a demonstration with the martial arts master, not yet practising and adapting to make the techniques my own.

Time for more sparring then.