Finding Your Place in the World

Most people find a place in the world by satisfying certain wants and needs -- of other people! If these wants and needs match your own you are among the lucky few. For the rest of us there is a difficult search necessary, which may not end successfully.

To increase the likelihood of success it would be wise to start somewhere that someone else has found beneficial. For that reason we will start by considering some of the insights concerning one's development as an artist that can be found in Scott McCloud's excellent book "Understanding Comics." Mr. McCloud presents us with a very basic and penetrating analysis of the challenges any artist faces, making it quite feasible to generalize some of his insights so they apply to the problems everyone face in pursuing a fulfilling way of life. Let's start with his observation that: Nearly all problems are due to communication problems.

Obviously we need some form of representation in order to convey our thoughts. Representations range from accurate portraits of reality to symbolism of abstract ideas. No matter what the representation however, it is only a representation and not the real thing. This means only part of the characteristics of whatever you are trying to communicate can be given -- yet often that is enough. People receiving the communication will perform acts of closure. Closure happens when someone observes the parts and perceives the whole -- in other words, fills in the gaps. But while this closure may make perfect sense -- it may not be quite the sense originally meant. So communication problems are unavoidable, and perception is incomplete.

When we observe people doing something we only see their actions, not the reasons behind those actions. This may be the reason behind Scott McCloud's observation that:
People want roles not goals.

And with this focus on roles over goals their approach to finding a place in the world usually is rather superficial. Let's look at what a non-superficial approach to developing ability in some area of interest would look like.

There are three stages to a methodological approach:
1) WHY should you have certain pursuits?
2) WHAT results should you strive for?
3) HOW can you achieve the desired results?
In each of these stages there are general and specific concerns. This leads to six steps in your development in your chosen field.

WHY: general
1) Developing PURPOSES: these will determine the content of your work.

There must be some chosen direction to your efforts,
some point to it all, otherwise the results will be
mostly a matter of chance. To find really worthwhile purposes
requires serious thought -- which requires
a mind that is highly developed for exactly such a search.

WHY: specific
2) Developing GOALS: these will determine the tasks of your work.

Once you know what desirable goals would look like then
the specific tasks will be easier to see. To discover
desirable goals consistent with some purpose of yours
requires a mind that is highly developed for
recognizing such goals.

WHAT: general
3) Developing REPRESENTATIONS: these will determine the form of your work.

You must work in some idiom, using languages well
suited to that field of interest. This determines the
general form of your results. There may be many types
of languages to choose from; or you may even have to
develop a new form of expression, more suited to your
purposes. These decisions require a mind that is highly
developed in making such decisions -- decisions that
sometimes have no president.

WHAT: specific
4) Developing STRUCTURES: these will determine the
composition of your work.

It is one thing to have adequate forms of expression,
and quite another to be able to arrange expressions in
a meaningful order. The editing or structuring of your
work can make a world of difference. These activities
require a mind that is highly developed in composing
effective results.

HOW: general
5) Developing the CRAFT: these abilities will determine
the construction of your work.

There are skills and procedures which must be learned
before you can actually construct real results in your
chosen field. Even if you know why you are striving for
a certain type of result, and even if you know what
this result would look like, the question remains:
how do you get from here to there? These abilities
comprise what is termed the craft of your field.
Acquiring an adequate level of expertise in this craft
requires a mind that is highly developed in modifying
and extending its understanding of the options
available for this growth.

HOW: specific
6) Developing the observed SURFACE: this will determine the finished look of your work.

The surface of your results is the area first
recognized by other people -- and sometimes that is all
they are aware of and understand. Therefore if your
results are to be appreciated by more than only those
people who think exactly like you, and have exactly the
same background, then the surface must generate real
interest -- enough to encourage them to give serious
consideration to what lies below the surface. Of course
if there is no substantial purpose to your work then
there will be no value to be found below the surface.
Even producing stimulating superficial aspects in your
work will require a mind that is highly developed in
that level of communication.

The six steps of development that have just been discussed are those activities required for success in your chosen field, but they are not the steps most people take -- and therefore most people have very limited success in any field. What most people do is start with a focus on either step 5 or step 6: the “HOW TO” steps. Then they pay minimal attention to the other four steps, often ignoring step 1 almost completely. Their reasons for WHY they are doing what they do are very superficial and therefore all the rest of their growth is very shallow. (Note however, sometimes a passion for WHAT can become a serious PURPOSE -- and this involvement in the field can be its own reason for being.)

And so, to find your place in the world you must learn
how to think in all of the six steps of development --
you must learn how to think comprehensively.

To learn about comprehensive thinking take the course
"Inventing Your Life."

To find out about the course "Inventing Your Life"
send your name and E-mail address to n.gilbreath@verizon.net
and the interactive program "ABOUT" will be E-mailed to you.