Transcending our Assumptions through Travel Coaching: a simple scenario, to understand the limitations of assumptions, and how travel coaching can help to transcend them.
Assumptions are a useful evolutionary tool, but also tends to slowly blindfold and trap us in our own narrow world view. Let’s consider the following simple scenario, to understand the limitations of assumptions, and how travel coaching can help to transcend them. Among other things, this leads us to advance our Critical Thinking, hone our Strategic Foresight skills, develop Cultural Empathy, and unleash our Innovative Creativity.
- You want to put sugar in your coffee. You have 2 jars, one with a lid labelled “sugar”, and the other one labelled “salt”. Which one will you use?
- Obviously, you would be choosing “sugar”, because of the label. However, this is a choice based on the ASSUMPTION that the label is correct, as you do not QUESTION the label, you just ACT upon it.
- But what if the lid label is misplaced? Then you will end up pouring salt into your coffee, and that’s the PROBLEM with letting assumptions control your decisions.
- If you have made a mistake before, then you might be wise enough to first taste the content of the jar before pouring. That’s CRITICAL THINKING of the INFORMATION on the lid label. However, this cannot be done every single time, as it is definitely overkill. Assumptions are a useful mechanism to save time (and the life of Homo Sapiens in the wild).
- So the idea is not to ELIMINATE our assumptions, but to QUESTION and be AWARE of them, RECOGNISE their potential repercussions for us, and TAKE ACTION to counter them. This is in direct comparison with simply blindly following our assumptions without further thought.
- Taking matters a bit further, what if BOTH jars have salt? Now you start to create possible hypothetical scenarios, and adapt your strategy to them. This is a prime example of FUTURES LITERACY / FORESIGHT.
Should I start drinking coffee without sugar?
Should I buy a sweetener to put in a third jar?
Should I put salt and sugar in different type of jars, so I do not need to rely on the label? - Travel Coaching is about perceiving the world around us and discovering new alternative possibilities. Therefore Travel Coaching helps us shield against our own assumptions, respond creatively to radically different Futures, and learn valuable lessons which can be further applied in other situations.
Should I switch to tea instead?
Should I try a different type of coffee?
If I have coffee with toast marmalade, maybe I do not need sugar at all?
In which other beverages or recipes can I use salt or sugar?
In which recipes you need both?
The possibilities are endless.
