How to Create Anew in 2022
Last week we encouraged you to take the time in this New Year to create from your deepest longings. This week we are excited to share valuable secrets about how to create from your longings—or create anything for that matter!
Dynamic Tension is the powerful structure for creating outcomes first made popular by Robert Fritz in his book Creating. We have built on his creative tension model in our TED* (*The Empowerment Dynamic)® work. It is a crucial concept that will help you stay on the path toward your longings and reduce your tendency to get trapped in reactive habits.
The term dynamic tension is borrowed from the scientific field of physics. It describes a vigorous force between two opposing points that actively pulls in opposite directions. One point pulls toward what you want, and the other point is anchored in what you have; creating tension between the two poles.
There is always dynamic tension, or energy, in the gap between what you say you want and what you actually have. When you recognize this energy as a source of creating, you now have a choice. Will you allow the tension to overwhelm you, or will you leverage it as the creative force it is, propelling you forward?
Here is our simple (but not always easy) 3-step process that leverages the power embedded in the dynamic tension.
- Declare your desired outcome. The more you clarify your outcome, the deeper and stronger you will anchor the vision. Here are a few questions to ask:
- What do I want? (It always begins with this question!)
- If I had it, how would I know it?
- What would I say or do?
- What would others hear me say, or observe me doing?
- Describe your current reality. Without judgment or blame, or making you or anyone else wrong, what is the full truth about your current situation? This step aligns with the Challenger role in the TED* framework and explains why the Challenger role is sometimes called the “truth teller.” People often interpret situations with personal stories and limiting beliefs. These can skew how you describe your current reality and make this step “challenging.”
Describing your current reality may include objective facts such as your time, money, age, education, relationships, and skills. And, very important, include your feelings (not labeled as good or bad, just that they simply exist).
There are two more important parts of fully describing your current reality. Be sure to first identify what is going well in your current reality. Ask yourself what is working that supports your desired outcome? What strengths can you continue to leverage? You might be surprised about the many resources you have that you have not allowed yourself to see until now.
After listing what is going well, then list what is inhibiting your desired outcome. Here’s where problems exist that you may need to address. What is blocking or standing in the way of it? What is not going well? Give yourself plenty of time for this vital phase of the creating process.
- Identify and commit to Baby Steps. Now that you have engaged the two poles that anchor Dynamic Tension, the next step is to identify a Baby Step that is 100% yours to do. You cannot make someone else take a step for you. There’s pure magic in taking just one Baby Step at a time, because it releases you from the pressure of having it all figured out before you get into the creating process.
It is our hope that this simple Dynamic Tension process will support you in creating anew in 2022!
