I have a slight colour deficiency, I really struggle to see anything red on a background of green. It’s not uncommon for me to lose a red ball, in the middle of our front lawn. Or for my wife to point out the red flowers in the trees, then laugh as I hunt high and low for them. Then there was the time where I tried to convince my wife that the next door neighbours cat, who I had some unhealthy negative feelings towards, must have snuck into our house and eaten our goldfish. Only it turns out I just hadn't cleaned the goldfish bowl in a while, the water had become dirty green, and I eventually became blind to our poor little orange goldfish swimming around its green mirky surroundings.
What has this all taught me? Colour exists on a spectrum. We’ve all seen light refract into a beautiful array of colours. There are some fixed points which we commonly refer to as ‘red’ or ‘green’, but truthfully there are countless options in between.
Previously I wrote about the challenges of adopting a fixed way of thinking without even realising it. Specifically we talked about the dichotomy. The dichotomy sets up two points, supposedly as opposites. A spectrum encompasses those two points, but it takes it further. If red and green are those two supposedly fixed points of a dichotomy, then changing to think through a spectrum rather than a dichotomy, allows us to see everything in-between.
The Spectrum
Thinking through a spectrum forces us to engage creatively, constantly working to find the options in between. I think this is how my children view our couch. No matter how squished we already are on the couch, they’re pretty convinced there’s always room for one more. Some people look at a 2 seater couch and think; 2 seats, for 2 people, there’s only one person on it, therefore I can fit. That would be dichotomised thinking. My children see my knee, my head, the back of the couch, the arm of the couch, underneath the couch…these are all options. In short, a creative new world opens up to those who think through a spectrum.
This inherent implication of creative thought is one of the benefits of the spectrum. It forces us to consider alternatives. I find it interesting, even in my couch example above, that our tendency is towards dichotomised thinking as we get older. Like somehow the world of possibilities is beat out of us as we grow up to accept what should be. We end up in an either/or mentality. Some suggest that’s one way our brains cope, simplifying an increasingly complex world, but I’m convinced it’s worth wrestling to keep the creative eyes of a child. I’m not sure I ever want to grow up to believe that ‘my way or the highway’ is somehow better?
I’m also amazed to think that every dichotomy can fit on a spectrum. It cost us nothing extra to think through the spectrum. This means we can change our approach and focus more on the differences between our views, rather than our different views. No longer are we at opposing odds, but now we’re able to see that there is a gap. Why is that better? Because it forces us to bring those differences to light, to view them through a different lens, to see what we can agree on, rather than attempting to convince each other of their error.
Take a decision for example. You think we should do x, I think we should do y. We could talk until we’re out of breath about why x is better than y or vice versa. But until we see the difference between them, and the similarities, we will not be able to find common ground to work together on a solution. Spectrum thinking opens up a way of people coming together. The dichotomy keeps people away, unless they’re the already convinced.
However, there is a challenge with the spectrum. A spectrum, like the dichotomy, forces us to adopt a position. Now, let me be clear, I don’t believe should change just because it’s popular, self-serving, or in line with the weight of the room for the sake of it. But I absolutely believe that I’m not as good a decision maker today as I will be tomorrow. In picking a position, I run the risk of not allowing myself to grow into that better decision maker.
If I don’t stay humble I run the risk of being more focused on defending my position than I am in growing. That’s why we can’t just stop at thinking through the lens of the spectrum, but we actually need to learn how to acknowledge and hold potentially even competing concepts in tension. We’ll talk more about that one next time.