Pause - observe - act

A couple of blogs ago I said I was intending to look up this concept of 'Masterly Inactivity' this weekend.  

The more I read the more I like the ‘feel’ of it.  And I do think it can be one of those ‘feely’ type concepts.... you go with the flow, you adapt to what is in front of you; this is not a concept of pre-conceived ideas or checklists, this seems to be willing and able to read urgent/pressing situations accurately to then give the absolute appropriate response – calmly, thoroughly, without fuss.

It strikes me that to do the above would take some confidence.  To have that level of willingness to say...   ‘let what’s going to happen....happen’ will not appeal to many I’m thinking.  It may well be that this skill if we are calling it a ‘skill’ can only be properly executed by the experienced.

It’s roots do seem to be medical.  It dates back to the 19^th Century.  There appears to be a balance between being prepared to sit tight, closely monitor and ultimately wait, with the need to ensure you are covering all the bases, ensuring you are keeping up to date with all the latest information; sometimes minute changes, and being prepared to ‘act’ at a moments notice.  So yes intuition appears to feature here, gut feel if you like  – there is an element of reasoned instinct being suggested.  But  I gather this is not to be confused with ‘let’s wait and see’ or ‘no idea, let’s see what happens’ – that is definitely not masterly inactivity, that is simply waiting to react to whatever crops up.

And I think this is why I like this concept.  I can certainly think of lots of situations on the driving front where I’ve needed to ‘pause’ and ‘monitor’.  Also, in my previous career, I can instantly recall dealing with a suicide ‘jumper’ on Staples Corner where I effectively used this policy (unknowingly to be honest) to good effect.

It seems to be actively waiting, not to be confused with putting to the back of the queue.  This is an activity that deserves, even demands attention, but it is wise to wait, observe and then act.  And in that regard, I can see that this is a useful skill while driving, and while teaching others to learn to drive. 

With teaching others to drive, it is extremely easy to fuss about, detailing the most minute of detail, acting very busy busy busy in your professional capacity, and missing the most fundamental of details about your pupil that simply needed you to sit back a bit, pause and notice.  We can be so busy ticking boxes, and executing text book instruction if you like to call it that, that we miss the most blindingly obvious details in our haste to go the ‘DSA’ way. 

With regards to driving, I instantly recall a pursuit in my previous career that resulted after quite some time with me following the vehicle on to a dis-used field.  Rather than instinctively acting, the better decision of pausing and monitoring turned out to be so much more effective as it led to a complete exit of the vehicle from the driver ‘in motion’ so to speak – who knows what may have occurred if I’d taken a more active/busy option.

So yes, I like this idea. ... it appeals to me greatly; don’t know what you think?