using threes to gain perspective

It happens sometimes that we get caught up in doing, in acting on plans that we’ve made. I know it happens to me. And it’s great when your job can transport you out of time and place for a while. A lot of times though, we go through life, living whole chunks in passing without focusing on anything.

From time to time though you have to assess where you are. You need to look up from your grindstone to make sure the pieces your milling will still fit into your bigger picture.

The way to gain perspective is to ask yourself questions. Start with three. If your first 3 questions don’t get you where you need to be, then switch out the questions.

I’ll usually keep separate the ones I swapped out, to use later. When I did this exercise using the questions below, I had three alternate queries that got swapped out because they were too far removed from what I was looking for, in the first round.

Picking Threes

What this exercise does is get you a snapshot, to show you where you are at the time. This snapshot is full of useful information.  Three is a good number to get a snapshot for three reasons.

1. Two is flat and doesn’t give enough information
2. Three is brief enough to keep the activity from taking too much time
3. Three invokes deeper thought—if you look up the metaphysical and spiritual significance of 3, you’ll likely find that it is strongly related to reflection, expression and creativity

What do You Need?

• Spirit and mind open. Release your idea of what you know. Remember, the point is to get beneath the surface. Use your process for opening your mind, a nature walk or silent meditation. Sometimes I do this exercise just after I wake.
• Something to write on or a blank screen in your word processing app.

How it Works

Pick what you want to assess and ask the main question. Why? is the question to ask with this exercise. Quickly list three aspects of your topic and then give three responses to the each.

Assessment question: What moves me to write?

If you start out broadly, still keep to three questions. You can repeat the process to narrow your focus. So, once you get through the three related to your main question, you can pick one part and repeat the process, further narrowing your scope.

Three things that make me want to write:

1. A great idea
2. A good idea
3. An idea

Three reasons to get it done:

1. To get my point across
2. To get someone else’s point across
3. To understand what I’m thinking

Three places I regularly write in:

1. Personal journal
2. Reading material notebook
3. Flash ideas notebook

What do the Answers Mean?

Take a look at your answers. See how they relate to your original question. And remember, this is a personal assessment. You ask and answer the questions and interpret their meaning. If you don’t think your answers are clear yet, repeat the process. You’ll find that asking variations of the question Why? will be more effective than asking questions that are answered with yes or no.

To reach the fullness of your responses, write about the answers that you’ve come up with. Describe in some detail what each means to you. Use your words to paint the full picture of your thoughts. Expound or change directions. Here, you can add in the results of your questions that were set aside.

The added value of this exercise comes from mining it for the nuggets of ideas that it presents. These nuggets are organic and you can grow them into useful material, possibly taking you in a whole new direction.

How Do You Get Clarity?

I’d love to read your thoughts: Did you find this exercise useful?

Do you have a quick assessment tool that help you gain perspective? Share your practices.

Journal perspective, self-assessment