The generative joy of discovery: exploring the possibilities on a Great Revisit

This is the 3rd in a series of content on the merits of a Great Revisit. You can read this on its own and still probably pick up a gem or two, but it will make more sense if you start here and then here . ?

Before we cover the next big beat on the Great Revisit road, I want to address two elephants in the room: Adam and Robert.?

It’s almost impossible to write about the act of revisiting without a nod to Adam Grant’s Think Again (2021), the organizational psychologist’s ode to the criticality of rethinking. Inherent in Grant’s work is the assumption that one can choose to rethink and, in doing so, deviate from otherwise expected outcomes. On the other hand, Robert Sapolsky’s Determined (2023), poses the opposite notion: free will does not exist. In the neuroscientist’s view, human actions are determined by our nature (biology, hormones) and our nurture (early childhood, life circumstance) and the feeling of choice is just that – a feeling. This releases us from the judgment we put on each other for making bad or evil choices, but sacrifices the notion that we can really choose at all.?

Two respected thinkers within their own schools, two very different views on one’s ability to choose for oneself. Wherever you find yourself on the spectrum between Adam and Robert, the point of this pitstop is this: what you believe or expect you can find along this road is what you will find.??

If you believe that you can not only choose but that you can choose differently, then your Great Revisit will likely be expansive, full of byways that could lead to other highways. If you believe that there are only so many paths possible for you to take, shaped by all that’s come before, your Great Revisit will be narrower, a little neater, and perhaps shorter overall. Neither journey is right or wrong, they are simply different courses charted by distinct worldviews.?

As we dig into the ‘discovery’ phase of our decision journey — that series of winding curlicues before any big decision is made — it’s worthwhile to take a moment and reflect on which elephant you’re taking with you.

Step 3, Part 1: Get curious.??

So you have your Big Question . Now what??

Odds are, as you were settling on the shape of that question, your mind already jumped to a set of possibilities. The first few likely reflected some existing bias:? the known, the safe, or the long-hoped-for. Then, perhaps, more and more emerged as you carried the question with you, choosing it as the one to propel you through this Great Revisit — possibilities of the outlandish, the audacious, and even the life-changing. I find this the most exciting part of the journey, like Possibility Pop Rocks. The first few fizzes on the tongue attune you to the sensation, and then soon your mouth is singing. While a chorus of options to consider might seem overwhelming, consideration is not yet your task. The main goal (and true joy) of discovery is to generate and define possibilities before we choose among them; to go wide, before we go narrow.?

If the idea of ‘research’ makes you break out in hives, take a deep yoga breath. This is completely understandable; it’s hard to feel equipped in areas that can be highly specialized: to be creative when you’re not a Creative, to conduct research when you are not a Researcher. While you may not be a paid creative or an acclaimed scientist, those professionals don’t have a monopoly on the acts themselves.? And, the good news is that the kind of creative inquiry you need on a Great Revisit is one you’re completely capable of already. All you need is a willingness to try/ask/learn/examine and an authentic curiosity.?

Research is also less complex than you might imagine. Almost all approaches fall into two essential buckets: examining that which is already past or creating the conditions to observe a phenomenon unfold. Put even more simply: you’re either uncovering someone else’s experience in the area you’re studying, or you’re finding a way to experience it for yourself. For the journeyer on a Great Revisit, this means that as long as you’re learning something through either inquiry or experimentation, you are indeed researching.?

Because each Big Question is unique to the journeyer, each discovery phase looks different; this is the part of the journey with the least prescription. However, here are a few foundational steps you can adapt as you chart your own:?

1. Gather the possibilities. Take a moment to honor those first instincts you had in reaction to your Big Question. Reflect on where you want this exploration to take you. Write down (or articulate in some way) the possible paths that are most important. How you define importance is up to you – it might be a perceived sense of feasibility, alignment with your values, or just the excitement it raises in you.?
2. Determine your knowledge gap. Once you have the handful of possibilities you’re going to explore, reflect on each one: What do you know? What do you believe or assume? What do you need to find out in order to make this path clearer? Keep in mind that you’re not trying to learn everything about a possible path; you’re just trying to know enough to make a choice. What that ‘enough’ looks like will be shaped by your risk tolerance and appetite for ambiguity.?
3. Fill in the gaps as best you can. Remember: all of research is either inquiry or experimentation. Once you know the knowledge you’re looking to gain, set out to find it. This can look like: speaking to X amount of people in the field you want to work in; reading Y books on the subject; or setting up a small pilot of Z to see what you can achieve. In all of this, you are also a dependent variable; pay attention to not only what you’re learning, but also to how learning more about any specific possibility has an impact on your thoughts, feelings, and actions.??
4. Reflect, adjust, and keep going. Develop a rhythm of looking at your whole body of research to see how far you’ve come and what else you might need to find out. Has one possible path dulled a bit for you, now that you know more? Trim that. Are you feeling inspired by conversations with folks in a certain area? Perhaps it’s time to try it out for yourself.?

Step 3, Part 2:? Turning possibilities into options

If cultivating curiosity is at the heart of Part 1, then Part 2 is about making sense of what you’ve found: turning the information you now have into insights for answering the Big Question.?

Again, there’s not much prescription to offer here. However you interpret your findings, stay true to the metric(s) you’ve been using to define importance (see ‘Gathering Possibilities’ above). If you recall where your various possibilities initially ranked in hierarchy, have any of the possibilities moved up based on what you now know? Down? Did any fall completely off your list? Are there any new ones that you’ve crafted? And, for all of these questions, why is that the case???

Similar to how you found the signal from the noise at the start of this Great Revisit, your aim now is to identify the strongest possible answer set to your Big Question. How will you know you’ve done the job? A few common characteristics I’ve seen with my coaching clients:??

• Informed: This seems obvious but is worth stating. Your answer set should be shaped by all you’ve learned in the discovery phase. You know a lot (or just enough) about each of them.?
• Focused: Your answer set is smaller than the set of possibilities you started out with, typically just the 2 or 3 options that have risen to the top.???
• Distinct: These options don’t need to be mutually exclusive. However, if your next steps look the same whether you chose Option A or Option B, they’re probably not quite different enough.?
• Inspiring: When you take a step back and look at the set you’ve curated, it’s understandable if you feel a little fear or intimidation – after all, these each represent a change. However, if none of them drum up momentum for you then you might need to revise. And if any inspire a sense of dread, then I implore you to eliminate that possibility or reenvison it until it works for you and not against you.

You are the ultimate arbiter of what goes into your answer set and why, a refrain that I will repeat at every point of these guides to a Great Revisit. Once you’re settled on your set, take a moment to celebrate all you’ve learned and the small decisions you’ve made to get this far. On the horizon is that long awaited consideration that leads to the choosing, which I’ll cover in my next piece.??

Some advice for the road?

The discovery phase is probably the most creative and confounding section of a Great Revisit, marked by both the inspired heights of ideation and by moments of overwhelm at all you’re processing. But there’s a rhythm to the discovery: diving deeper and deeper, then coming up for fresh air and the warmth of the sun on your face. For some, this rhythm hums at a steady pace over several months; for others, it’s a feverish syncopation over just a few weeks.?

Whatever pace your discovery takes, here is some of my best advice for this part of the road based on my personal experience:?

Tip 1: Learn how you best learn – and then apply it. Dawna Markova opens her book Collaborative Intelligence (2015) by retooling an age-old question posed to learners. Rather than ask, “Are you smart?”, she asks “How are you smart?”. With the addition of just one word, the organizational learning expert validates and creates space for neurodiversity and the value it brings. She then unpacks why learning how to think well with others is essential to collaboration.?

One foundational step for this ‘CQ’ (Collaborative Intelligence) is to identify the way your mind uniquely processes information aka your ‘mind pattern’. This pattern is a specific configuration of which style of learning — auditory, visual, or kinesthetic —triggers each form of your attention: Focused (when you are totally tuned in), Sorting (when you are figuring something out and making connections), and Open (imagining new possibilities).?

Many moments along a Great Revisit will require you to tap into one form of attention or another, especially for the kind of research that defines the discovery phase. Knowing what environments and types of activities will direct your attention is one of the ultimate mind hacks; if you’re most Focused through kinesthetic learning, then you might make hands-on experimentation core to your research plan. You can take a short quiz to find your mind pattern here .?

Tip 2: Carve out a dedicated space. Every researcher needs a lab or workspace to conduct their experiments. While your efforts might be out in the field, where will you keep field notes? Whether you prefer Google doc or Moleskine, it’s invaluable to have all of your insights in one dedicated place as you learn, reflect, adjust, and keep going. What kind of space works best is completely up to you —though consider applying your mind pattern to what you designate. My ‘Sorting’ attention is visually triggered, so I’ve been known to cover a physical wall with findings, insights, and other data to consider during a Great Revisit.?

Tip 3: Knowledge can be boundless. Questions tend to lead to other questions. If you know you suffer from analysis paralysis or fear that you’ll use this boundlessness to stay in the relative safety of the discovery ‘curlicue’ forever, give yourself a timebox for this phase. If you’re not sure you’re ‘done’ yet, ask yourself whether you’re still excited by the inquiry. If the joy is gone, it’s a sign to move on.?

Tip 4: Stay curious, trust your gut, and have fun. No explanation needed.?

Jodi Chao is a certified professional coach and 2x Chief of Staff who believes that Great Revisits lead to even more Great Things. When individuals and teams show up for the big moments with clarity, conviction, and a little bit of audacity, things never stay the same. If you’d like to learn more about her work as a coach and consultant, you can do so at www.jodichao.com .