Choice-creating is a heartfelt creative quality of thinking where people face urgent seemingly impossible issues creatively and collaboratively and make progress through shifts and breakthroughs. From this kind of thinking emerges a new level of clarity, empowerment, and energy for action. Choice-creating is similar to "decision-making" in the sense that we are trying to reach a conclusion about what to do. But it is opposite because choice-creating uses creativity while decision-making uses judgement.
When people work together in the spirit of choice-creating, they achieve unity and relationship. Because progress occurs through shifts and breakthroughs they achieve solutions that are better than what was previously imagined. And this progress couldn't happen without diversity, people thinking differently. So having different views on controversial topics is an asset when the thinking is choice-creating ... instead of being a liability with normal decision-making. When breakthroughs happen there is a shift of energy and perception. Clarity emerges along with empowerment.
When people work together in the spirit of choice-creating, they achieve unity and relationship. Because progress occurs through shifts and breakthroughs they achieve solutions that are better than what was previously imagined. And this progress couldn't happen without diversity, people thinking differently. So having different views on controversial topics is an asset when the thinking is choice-creating ... instead of being a liability with normal decision-making. When breakthroughs happen there is a shift of energy and perception. Clarity emerges along with empowerment.
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Choice-creating often arises naturally for people in a crisis, when normal thinking modes can't achieve the desired result. Then people put aside their ego-centric positions, open their minds and listen to one another deeply in a quest for some new answer. They seek to understand their own feelings as well as the feelings of others. They include diversity in both people and in their perspectives. ... If large systems of people, like a nation, can be facilitated into the spirit of choice-creating over time, then a new entity, "We the People", arises.
It's a new level of democracy that we call "Wise Democracy". . (See the chart comparing Forms of Democratic decision-making) Choice-creating can also occur naturally in a "time out" moment, when people step back to think, where they address the really important issues and seek breakthrough progress. This kind of progress is different than progress through "decision-making." (See Decision-making vs. Choice-creating) |
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In both choice-creating and decision-making people determine answers. But the thinking process of these two is opposite because judgment and creativity are opposites. (i.e. You can't be creative when judgment is present.) ... Yet, we live in a system where judgment is primary, like in voting where individual judgments are added to determine the collective judgment. But with choice-creating, the answers are co-determined.
Both decision-making and choice-creating are necessary in a democracy. And maybe 97% of the time we operate through decision-making. But choice-creating needs to also be structured to happen. And it needs to be primary. With choice-creating "We the People" figure out what's going on, what We want, and how We should best get there. Decision-making can then determine which policies can support this overall position and direction.
Here are three KEY points: 1) Ongoing whole-system choice-creating is necessary for our System to be sustainable and for us to thrive. 2) Dynamic Facilitation can reliably evoke choice-creating in small groups. 3) The Wisdom Council Process can evoke the spirit of choice-creating in large systems of people ... eg. nationally.
Both decision-making and choice-creating are necessary in a democracy. And maybe 97% of the time we operate through decision-making. But choice-creating needs to also be structured to happen. And it needs to be primary. With choice-creating "We the People" figure out what's going on, what We want, and how We should best get there. Decision-making can then determine which policies can support this overall position and direction.
Here are three KEY points: 1) Ongoing whole-system choice-creating is necessary for our System to be sustainable and for us to thrive. 2) Dynamic Facilitation can reliably evoke choice-creating in small groups. 3) The Wisdom Council Process can evoke the spirit of choice-creating in large systems of people ... eg. nationally.
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Elements of choice-creating include ...
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Outcomes of choice-creating include ...
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More Resources on Choice-creating ...Charts of comparison
- Decision-making vs. choice-creating
- Dialogue, deliberation, and choice-creating
- Collective "decision-making" ... comparing three approaches
- "Wise Democracy" (based on choice-creating) vs. "Deliberative Democracy" (based on deliberation)
- Dynamic Facilitation (choice-creating) vs. Traditional Facilitation (decision-making)
- Article by Tom Atlee describing a natural example of choice-creating in a large system of people" How to Make a Decision without really Making a Decision
- See the older video interview (2006) on Choice-creating from the Jim Rough Show archive with guest host Paul Everett below:
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