Staying Curious

I recently began taking a workshop called The Seven Creative Powers, with the artist and entrepreneur Lisa Sonora. As part of the workshop we keep a sketchbook and do a variety of visual journaling exercises.

I’m making a delightful mess as I scrape paint on pages, make gelli prints, doodle, answer prompts, cut out letters from magazines, and transform a simple black sketchbook into a brightly colored, outrageously thick artifact documenting my troubles, blockages and hallelujah – insights.

I’m excited by this work! One of the creative powers we have been talking about that has set off a ripple effect in my thinking and behavior is the “power of observant thinking.”

What is observant thinking? It’s the practice of noticing your experience. This could be your experience of work, your relationships, how your day is going, or a project you are working on.

Observant thinking means noticing the things that you’re experiencing without judging them, instead staying curious and wondering. 

After every exercise – whether that be writing or image making, we’re invited to answer the following questions:

• What did you notice?
• What feelings came up?
• What thoughts were you aware of?
• What was easy or challenging for you about this project?
• And what take-aways or insights do you now have?

This practice of observant thinking – specifically noticing without judging – is not new to me. My coaching practice has helped me to hone observant thinking when I am sitting across from a client.

I assume my coach’s stance of curiosity and wonder so that I can listen without judgement, and ask empowering questions that help my client to see their experiences anew, gain fresh awareness and start moving toward their vision.

But how often do I apply that observant thinking to myself?

This practice of noticing my experience – be that how my day is going, my work, my relationships, my business ideas – without judging, and with a spirit of curiosity and openness?

One evening, as I answered the list of observant thinking questions that I’ve shared above, I realized that one of my colleagues often uses the practice of observation as a superpower that affects the ways in which we interact and hear each other.

During a meeting, this colleague will often say, “An observation that I made…,” or “Something that I observed…”

Using that particular phrasing brings a different quality to the conversation that we’re having, it signals a pause, calls forth a breath as well as an invitation to the rest of us to turn our attention to noticing, rather than leaping to judgement or even decision-making.

I have been doing this workshop for a few weeks now, studying the other powers of creativity, all the while strengthening my muscle of noticing my thoughts, feelings, reactions, yes and no’s, carefully plucking aha’s from my journal pages, patiently polishing and rewriting these seeds of power and possibility. 

I like this quote by Cheryl Richardson that Lisa Sonora shared in the workshop:

“The beauty of awareness is that it interrupts a pattern. Bringing attention to our inner conversations – the things we say to ourselves, every single day, is a way of becoming present to the truth.”

What about you? How do you respond to these questions? Select an incident, something you worked on, or even a conversation and practice the power of observant thinking:

• What did you notice?
• What feelings came up?
• What thoughts were you aware of?
• What was easy or challenging?
• What take-aways did you gain?

Write your responses. Then do it again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next . . . In a few days, reread what you wrote. And then start the cycle of questions again, reflecting on what you have written.

Stay curious, and see where your questions, and the creative power of observant thinking takes you.