Small Steps in the Dark

Suppose you found yourself in a pitch-black room with unknown surroundings. If no lights were available, what would you do to learn about your environment? Taking an enormous, head-first leap forward with all your might probably wouldn’t be very wise and may result in a broken neck if there happened to be a wall in that direction. Instead, a better way would be to extend your arms and take a small step forward. From this new location, you could feel around with your hands and if there was nothing in the way, you could take another step forward. Using this method, you could gradually learn the layout and design of the room, with little risk of catastrophic injury. 

Charles Marohn, author of the book Strong Towns, uses the above image to illustrate the prudent and imprudent development of neighborhoods and cities. Cities that emerge from a series of small experiments tend to be much better suited to local needs and human flourishing than those that are built all at once as massive developments.  

This week, I invite you to apply the wisdom of this image to your life, asking: 

Where in my life are there unknowns? What’s a small step I could take to gather data and test a new direction to take? 

After taking the step: 

What did I learn from this experiment? What new directions does it suggest? What will my next small step be?  

God bless,
Dan