Doing and Being

Repetition, process, and awareness: These were the things on my mind after lunch with Christina on Monday. That conversation revealed some patterns in my experiences recently, which included:

• Robin Laws’ proposal of an RPG with a fixed text[1],
• Code katas,
• Co-Active Coaching’s emphasis on client process,
• My recent focus on proper form in skiing and exercise, and
• John Kabat-Zinn’s work on mindfulness.

What I see in all of them is the idea of creating a change not in the external world but in the internal one.

Take code katas as an example. Why write the same code over and over again? Clearly the code is not the point; the coder is. It’s not about doing something different but becoming something different. And sometimes the way to do that is not by trying to get anywhere. It’s by trying to be where you already are.

With all that I write about doing more and producing more, ultimately I’m interested in becoming more.

¹ Inspired by the Coen Brothers’ remake of True Grit.²

² And I contend that Montsegur 1244 and a number of other Nordic scenarios come close.³

³ Thought I suspect Robin might be thinking of something more like Borges’ Pierre Menard, Author of the Quixote.