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# Exploring new Territory
- URL: https://www.annemariecharrett.com/exploring-new-territory/
- Published: 2010-06-30T15:05:11.000Z
- Updated: 2021-06-16T08:12:17.000Z
- Author: Anne-Marie Charrett
- Tags: Software Testing Content, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb28239, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb281bc, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb28171, #633d2fd3963633003d1bebb3, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb280ca, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb2823e, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb2823f, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb280ce, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb281df, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb281ff, #64324ade31c943003d684eca, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb28136, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb281dd, #62e5a4aa26d211003dcebed1, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb28165, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb2816a, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb2814d, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb280d7, #60c1d1dd5b103d003bb280b7, #63eaa359522cb3003dd3d7c0

I learned something really important about myself today.

What all started it off was a discussion I was having with James Bach on Exploratory Workshops.

*(You may remember that I blogged about designing an ET workshop recently – well James offered to help out and I wisely accepted his offer)*

One comment he made was this:

*\[19:49:43\] James Bach: – … you don’t need to prove anyone right or wrong. You can take the attitude that you are just trying to help everyone be clear.*

Ok I thought, instead of trying to control the exercise and making sure you prove a point, it would be better to relax, let the exercise take its course and trust the outcome. With some forethought, I felt that while it was a challenge for me, it was doable. I left it at that and moved on to discuss other topics.

But my brain had other ideas and at 4 am it woke me up to think more about Socratic Examination.

Now, I’ve always been a big believer in goals and sticking to them. I make goals and generally I reach them. Any thing less than success is…well, failure.

But I realised (at 4.30 am) that perhaps this idea of ‘not controlling’ is not just for Exploratory Testing or for an ET workshop, but it's a great way to approach your life.

Perhaps, just perhaps instead of sticking blindly to goals regardless of outcome, its better to allow yourself to wander, drift….explore even? True, I won’t have the security of knowing my destination……….

But possibly, just possibly if I apply this idea to my life, new avenues and paths will appear?

*(I know those of you who already live your life like this will be wondering what the fuss is all about, but this is new thinking for me though!)*

I’m truly excited about this. It means that my journey is far more important than reaching my destination.

Or as Arthur Ashe succinctly puts it:

*Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.*

Your path may be less certain, but I suspect a hell of a lot more fun and who knows you too may come up with a new destination?