We have all grown up in an age where exploration into dramatic new territory has become routine. We have had people travel into space to live for short periods of time. We have sent people to explore the moon. We have built machines to take people under the ocean to live and work. And we have even built machines, as extensions of ourselves, to go to places where we could not go physically and send back pictures and other data.
There is another arena that it is possible for us to explore - one that we can do personally. It requires a “risk taker” mentality and an adventurous spirit, and I want to give you instructions on how to get there. I am going to take you on a philosophical journey beyond yourself. This may seem a bit esoteric and mysterious, but humor me for a moment.
Begin by getting for yourself a clean sheet of white paper. Now, take a pencil and draw a small dot in the middle of it. For our purposes here, that dot represents something very important about you. It is the sum total of your entire life.
Now for most people, what the dot represents, and the territory inside the dot, is the most important thing there is. It represents their life, their understanding of reality, and all of their experience.
But there is something else on the page with the dot. Look at all of the white space. The white space represents your potential. This is where you could explore if you had a mind to. It represents all of the knowledge you don’t have, all of the experiences you have never had, all of the people you don’t know, and all of the activities you have never done.
But most people don’t ever spend much time and effort probing outside of the dot. Perhaps as many as 95% of the entire population of the planet are satisfied to live in their dot. Now, certainly, as life is lived, the dot expands some. Everyone learns new things and experiences new experiences in the course of their lives and this naturally expands the dot. But it is a relatively insignificant expansion compared to what is possible. For most people there is no intentional activity that they create to expand the dot. It just, sort of, happens.
But, this need not be the case. It is possible to blast out of the dot in every direction and create a life that explodes with new knowledge, relationships, activities and experiences all the time. But, it doesn’t just happen. This kind of life must be crafted and intentionally lived. It requires expending energy and effort, which few are willing to do.
Five Steps for Expanding Your Dot
So, how is it possible to get on this journey? There is a simple five step formula that you can use to begin this journey.
1. Hopefully the dot exercise has helped you take this first step. Beginning the journey starts with a realization. You have to realize that the possibility exists to grow beyond where you are. Once you realize the possibilities, you can begin to do things to make changes.
2. Realization means nothing if you don’t care. The second step is ramp up the desire to expand your universe. Many people are quite content to go to the same job year in and year out, then come home after work, grab a TV dinner and sit in front of the TV until time to go to bed - and do it all over again the next day.
3. Once you have the desire to explore new avenues of life, you then have to figure out, specifically, what you want to explore. There are a lot more possibilities than any one person could ever personally conquer. So the third step is to do an analysis and make a decision. Where is your life now and in what areas do you need, and want, to grow beyond where you currently are.
4. The fourth step is to make a plan. There are specific steps that have to be taken to accomplish whatever it is you choose to do. You may have to study or practice or work out or make some new relationships. In other words, you have to begin to intentionality figure out what you have to do to walk your new path.
5. The final procedure in the process is to work your plan. This is not a one step or even a one dimensional process. It will take time and effort. It will take re-evaluation and adjustments. But, it has to be played out in life if your dot is going to expand.
There’s the Door
Your dot is your life. There is no way that I, or anyone else for that matter, can expand your dot for you. If you want it to be bigger, you have to do the work.
There is something that I can do though, and that is to point you toward the door. It is the door to greater significance than your life has ever known. It is the door to more excitement. It is the door to more purpose and meaning. It is the door to more knowledge and experience. But, you have to walk through it yourself. No one can do it for you. You can get guidance, insight and encouragement from a lot of places, but you have to walk your own walk. Begin now! Expand your dot.
About The Author
Dr. Freddy Davis is the owner of TSM Enterprises and conducts conferences, seminars and organizational training for executives, managers and sales professionals to help develop greater effectiveness and productivity. He is the author of the book Supercharged! as well as the Nutshell Series of books for strengthening business. You can visit the TSM website at www.tsmenterprises.com, or you can contact Freddy directly at 888-883-0656 or davis@iname.com.
davis@iname.com
God is the primordial Creative Force that is believed to have created each atom that we see around us. When you sit and muse, have you ever heard a voice inside you talking to you? That is the voice that is in you, whom you may also call GOD.
Think logically, if you have heard of the voice of that inner soul in you, who indeed is the never-lying, never-forsaking GOD, then is it JUST NOT possible that you are devoid of even a spark of that Divine Creativity? It definitely isn’t! And it is never too late to bring it out.
Start with something as small as designing a cookie in a very unique way or icing a cake beautifully or growing blossoms in your garden. Help your kids to make a tent and watch him or her glow with domestic bliss — to him, it is a blessing that you have designed for him. Yes, you are the CREATOR. At any level, being a creator is really a very Divine thing.
To create is human, to Create is Divine
Human beings have been blessed with the power to create and that is where Nature has been partial with us. That we are humans evinces the fact that we have creativity innate in us. It has to be explored, cultivated and expressed. That’s all!
Explore : Remember your childhood. Remind yourself the compliments that pleased you. What are the qualities that you had? Were you good at dancing? Singing? Did you speak well? Stitched lovely clothes for your dolls? Scored well in cricket? Travel down the vista of years and remind yourself of the happy moments of your past. Explore the talents that you have nearly forgotten about.
Cultivate : Wash away the rust and let it shine. Re-live the happy moments, by practising those things yet again. Let your children help you. Find the notes in your voice, try a gig like you did years ago. And indeed why not go for a new hobby. Try pottery or gardening or glass painting anything creative.
Express : Let your creativity be expressed and appreciated. And never ever forget how creative you are. Let the world at large find out that you have a place in God’s Creation, and are blessed with the creative instinct. Not only that, but you also have the strength in you to express your creativity with confidence.
Do not fear criticism, for criticism is just the thing you need to improve your art. Did Satan not criticize God’s creation. It only helped God to improve His creation, and thus human beings populated the earth!
Again, it is NEVER TOO LATE to begin. Let your inner voice stimulate your creativity right now. And at the end of it all, when you create something, however small it might be, you will the happiest person when you find that you are a creator.
Shreelina Ghosh is an Indian Classical dancer and web designer. A post-graduate in English Literature and Language, she looks forward to studying the finer nuances of web rhetorics.
