It was an experiment, not a plan to change

I've been doing some interviews and podcasts about Do Share Inspire in the last couple of months, and it's amazing how some little themes have come to light for me. It's not like they are things that I'd never thought of before, but for some reason I've been connecting the dots in different ways. So I thought I might mention one or two of them in posts over the next couple of weeks.

Dealing with Change

I was asked a question in one online discussion, on how I managed the change process of My Year of TED - and I don't think I've ever really thought about it from that angle before. Because the project was not about 'change', even though that was the outcome.My Year of TED was about trying things on and seeing how they worked for me. It was about experimentation and focusing on different parts of myself and the world. I didn't walk into it thinking "Oh, by the end I will [insert long checklist here]". Instead, I thought of it as "There's this thing I'd like to do better, or work out why I'm not doing it well - let's see if I can find a way to look at it differently with this TED Talk."Sure, in the activity outlines I include a number of things I aim to get from each activity, but the language is not of definitive change. It's language about experimenting, and how I plan on conducting that experiment - followed by a hope for what I'm trying to address.So the answer to that question is simple - I didn't 'manage the change' because that's not how I approached the project. I didn't have to think about getting rid of my old habits; acquiring the new ones; then bedding them down in my life. I just had to be in the moment; do the tasks I set for myself; focus on the particular ideas or thoughts that I needed; and be open to learning from the experiences.It was a great mindset, one that allowed me to achieve a lot in a 12 month period, and one that has continued into my post-MYoT life. But until I was asked the question about change, I don't think I ever consciously realised what that was.Have you ever tried the experimentation mindset? Have you ever approached a 'potential' change in your life with no end goal in mind? I highly recommend it.