New Discoveries

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not 'Eureka' (I found it!) but 'That's funny...' Isaac Asimov

I was at a young leader's gathering on Saturday morning, when I asked the youth to come up with an icebreaker to open our time together. This 11-year-old pipes up with a doozie... "What's your most secretive habit?"  

While the most interesting answer was "to change how the toliet paper is hanging at people's houses if it is on the 'wrong way'", it certainly got me thinking a bit about my own life and habits. 

Most of us have room for improvement in our lives. We have those nagging areas, those bad habits that we struggle shaking, the ruts that we naturally fall back into so we never seem to make the progress we hope for. 

I wonder if part of the barrier for us is our approach.  Are we looking for the 'Eureka' moment when really it's probably a string of 'That's funny...' moments that begin to make us think a little deeper, a little more connected, and a little more freely. 

Think about it.  Looking for the 'Eureka' can be a lot of pressure. It's pretty much black and white, we've found it or done it - or we haven't. 

On the other hand, taking note of the funny or unusual aspects give the freedom to maybe take a step or experiment a little just to see what will happen if we try. No pressure, because we're just going on what we're seeing and our hunches. 

Beyond our secretive habits, I wonder if this applies to more areas of life... our relationships, careers, hobbies, and more.  Maybe we need to remember life is more of a step by step discovery than a 'Eureka' moment. 

And maybe, just maybe, one day we will wake up and have a 'Eureka' moment where we realize all those steps have brought us right to this wonderful moment and opportunity.

I bet so. Wanna try?