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Cross your fingers behind your back and you know what you have done even though you cannot see it with your eyes. That's because of proprioception, the ability to tell where our body parts are and what they are doing through the body's internal feedback via muscles, joints, and tendons.
It's a physical phenomenon, but not a mental one. We don't have this same self-awareness when our mind takes a posture, creates a concept, or makes an assumption. We construct ideas and then we see them as real, not for the self-generated creation they are. That's why questioning assumptions is so important and can lead to breakthroughs.
Chris Argyris developed the Ladder of Inference as a tool in 1990 to make this process visible. To get an idea of how the ladder works, start from the bottom of this diagram and work your way up:
Because of the above reflexive loop, we often get trapped in our assumptions. We start selecting the data we let in based on the beliefs we have constructed. This makes us progressively more isolated, reinforcing our perceptions and assumptions while filtering out anything that does not jibe with our current worldview. There are great and wonderful ways to counter that tendency:
- Meet unusual people and listen carefully to how they put their world together
- Take trips to foreign cultures and let the differences in--especially those that are unsettling
- Grapple with difficult, complex issues--especially those that push you out of your comfort zone
Of course, there are masters of innovation. These are people who dedicate themselves to breaking free of the reflexive loop. They hunt down unusual, unorthodox, and innovative ways of looking at the world. They develop and wield their imagination passionately, the way others pursue scuba diving, gardening, travel, or growing a business. They make it a point to grow new thoughts, find connections where others see paradox, and suss out the patterns hiding in plain sight.
 Heraclitus (535-475 BC) was perhaps the first who was well known for his pursuit of unorthodox insight. His philosophy revolved around change as the way of the universe.
It was he who gave us such timeless epigrams as:
- You cannot step twice into the same stream
- The way up and the way down are one and the same
- Unless you expect the unexpected, you will never find the truth.
- It is by changing that things find rest.
He was a self-taught man. When quizzed on the source of his wisdom he famously said, I searched into myself.
What is the most powerful tool in your kit to change our world for the better? It is what you find when you search into yourself, your imagination. This is your unique ability to conceive something new to dedicate time, energy, and resources toward bringing into existence.
So, what will you imagine today? What new idea will you midwife?
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 Seth Kahan is a change leadership expert, regular contributor to Fast Company (SethFast.com), and author of the bestselling book, Getting Change Right: How Leaders Transform Organizations from the Inside Out. This article was taken with permission from his weekly Monday Morning Mojo, which you can subscribe to here.
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