New Game: New Rules – A facilitated activity with Jimbo Clark – event reflections
“In times of change the learners will inherit the earth, while the knowers will find themselves beautifully equipped to deal with a world that no longer exists. " – Eric Hoffer
在改變的年代, 學習者會繼承大地 知者則發現他們已妥善地準備好面對一個不存在的世界
Undoubtedly, the world is changing; as the circumstances around us continue to shift, how each one of us plays “the game of life" is challenged again -and again. What personal rules are you playing by? Perhaps it’s time to reexamine our own guidelines which we have adopted in life: hen there is a new game – new rules are called upon.
Today over forty individuals came together on a beautiful sunday afternoon at the Mayor’s Salon and played a game. The context was simple, yet the application profound.
Facilitator Jimbo Clark began by asking the participants to play the game of “getting as many signatures on a piece of paper as possible." No more instructions were given; and within seconds the room was aroar with laughter and a flurry of people signing each other’s paper.
We then lined up according to the number of signatures person had garnered. We soon learned that person had used a different means to acquire signatures, and each had different interpretations of the rules and the game. In the case of this game, there was no absolute “right" or “wrong"- there were just different processes adopted by each person to reach what we thought was the goal. In the process, we still had fun.
Hmmm… could a similar lesson be applied to the differing interpretations of “rules" and “game" which people “play" the game of life?
“The game" is a metaphor for “thriving on uncertainty."
To get a better idea of the kind of “uncertainty" we mean, take a look at the video below which Jimbo showed to the group:
Following break, Jimbo asked us to play a new game: each person was asked to write down a topic that interests him/her, then form a group with others who would l feel a compatibility between each’s topic, then sit down and discuss how each person is playing in relation to this topic at.
Some guiding questions provided by Jimbo included:
- Is there an arena of greater concern or importance to me today?有沒有我現在更關心或更重要的領域?
- Is this objective worth playing for? 這個目標值得玩嗎?
- What would I most like in this domain? 在這個領域內我最想要什麼?
- What short term actions/results that will help me win the game? 那些短期的行動/結果可以幫助我贏這場遊戲?
- How has the context changed? 情境有何不同?
- Am I sure it is a rule?我確定這是規則嗎?
- What would happen if I cheated? 如果我作弊了, 會怎樣?
- What is working? 行的通的是什麼?
- What is not working?行不通的是什麼?
- What might work?有什麼可行的?
- Who do I want to invite to play? 我想邀請誰一起來玩?
The worksheet we used for this exercise can be downloaded here:New Game-New Rules Activity Sheet.pdf
Topics raised included: Life, Work, Spirituality, relationships, death, investments, and so on.
As you can see below, the participants took this game quite seriously…
Investment discussion group:
Life discussion group:
Spirituality discussion group:
Work discussion group:
Work-life balance discussion group:
Following the group activity, we were given some time for quiet reflection. And to conclude the afternoon, we joined in a circle and shared some reflections on this experience shared together today.
For me, the biggest take-away was recognizing how my particular experience of life is based on how I decide to play it. What rules do I agree to (implicit & explicit)? and I alone have the power to change how I want to play this “game of life" however I want to experience it. The responsibility and the power is in my hands. That, is a very nice acknowledgement. Thank you Jimbo for facilitating this discovery in me!
朝邦文教基金會 