The Fire in The Dark
Fostering growth by the Fire as a pursuit of the curious.
By Jonathan Hewitt
Here in Britain, winter is dark.
Anyone living in the Northern Hemisphere can empathize with this, but I’ve always felt that there is something uniquely baleful about the mid-winter darkness of the British Isles. This time of year, the sun sets around 3:30 PM. Even when the sun is above the horizon, it often peeks through thick clouds with a milky indifference as if reluctant to reveal itself.
This perpetual twilight lends a mystical, almost otherworldly quality to the landscape. The rolling hills and ancient woodlands, often shrouded in mist, seem to whisper old tales and secrets. It's a time when the veil between the past and the present feels thin, and the echoes of history resonate more strongly in the chilling air.
Unsurprisingly, therefore, many Christmas stories from Britain are also ghost stories. The atmosphere, created by ominous darkness, skeletal trees, and the mournful wail of wind, forms the perfect seedbed for these spectral tales. Before Halloween became the token spooky holiday in the twentieth century, Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol blended the ideal amount of Victorian morality, gothic threat and festive decadence. This story transformed how we conceptualize Christmas, intertwining joyous celebrations with a touch of the supernatural. (If you’re not familiar with the story, I cannot recommend the Muppet version highly enough. It’s mandatory holiday viewing in my house–a delightful blend of humor and haunting that captures the essence of a British winter.)
And in this setting, there is no better place to take refuge from the bleak midwinter than around a fire. Whether it’s a roaring bonfire in the woods, a gently glowing grill of embers in an old pub, or even a candle dancing on your bedside table, the orange sphere of protection that a fire projects is the perfect place to pause, contemplate, and examine your day. Around the fire, stories come alive, memories are shared, and the darkness recedes, if only for a moment. It’s here, in the warmth of the flickering flames, where thoughts can unfurl and the day's hustle can gently be put to rest. In this space, the darkness of a British winter becomes less a thing to be endured and more a canvas for reflection.
Growth by the Fire
This is the Fire that Karl Martin explores in his book The Cave, The Road, The Table and The Fire. The Fire is a dedicated space at the end of the day for intentional examination of the day's events and a systematic, searching, curious analysis of what has been learned so that the next day is not a replica of what came before. As he says, “Any experience that remains unprocessed stays unlearned.” The Fire is an essential space for that processing. It’s a liminal, in-between space that welcomes answers to two simple questions:
What did I learn today?
How might I act tomorrow?
A regular practice of journaling your answers to these questions is vital to create accountability and crystalize growth.
Writing that, I feel deeply convicted. I have never been a natural journaler. The formless expanse of a blank page feels more like a threat than unrealized promise to me, so an additional level of structure and parameters is very helpful. Under the first question, Martin suggests adding the categories of “Take With,” “Leave Behind,” and “Get Right”.
What will I take with me into the next day? How was I encouraged? What did I learn from the daily failures and slip-ups that happen to everyone?
What needs to get left behind? Is there anything that I need to leave in today and not carry into tomorrow?
And who do I need to get right with? Do I need to forgive myself or someone else? Do I need to ask for forgiveness?
This may only take ten minutes, but those ten minutes by the Fire will enable growth through disciplined self-examination and processing. After all, the Fire is the pursuit of curious, and it is the drive towards continuous improvement in yourself that will enable you to realize continuous improvement in your team and your organization.
Continuous improvement is the core of the Japanese management philosophy Kaizen. Kaizen, 改善, literally translates from Japanese to “virtuous change,” which is exactly what the system enables. It’s a philosophy core to the success of industrial giants like the Toyota Motor Company, where every process, every worker and every system is analyzed daily for ways to make minor improvements that may feel small in the moment. Still, over time and in aggregate, they can radically transform the effectiveness of an organization.
Kaizen can be practiced in four simple steps:
Go and see. Get your boots on and check out what’s happening. Enquire and engage with the situation at its source.
Ask why. And not just once. Follow up until you understand. Understanding leads to growth.
Marginally improve. 1% growth every day leads to 37x growth by the end of a year. Just hit 1% today. And tomorrow. And the next day.
Never arrive. Stay curious.
Learning to teach and teaching to learn
Kaizen elevates your solitary reflections by the Fire into a dynamic culture of growth. While personal examination brings much into light, it's through engaging with others that we truly expand our horizons. Alone, we are limited by our blindspots, unable to see beyond the scope of our experiences.
This is where the power of apprenticeship, as another practical application of the Fire, becomes crucial. It embodies social, accountable learning, transcending mere acquisition of knowledge to a shared journey of discovery. In the Arable coaching process, we utilize the Apprenticeship Square, fostering a space where knowledge is not just internalized but enriched through collective wisdom and diverse perspectives.
The square starts with “I do, you watch,” where the learner is in a state of unconscious incompetence, moves through “I do, you help,” to “you do, I help,” and closes the cycle with “you do, I watch.” Here, the learner has achieved unconscious competence, and the teacher can stand back and cheer. The vital addition to the square, and one that is often missed, is the “we talk” section at each step.
The “we talk” section is where the Fire comes to the fore. That’s where the learner gets to process their failures, share their questions, and explore new ways of thinking. Without that essential pause for the breathing of curiosity, growth will not happen. Concepts will not be internalized, failure will lead to shame instead of growth, and you are less likely to move beyond the “I do, you help” stage.
This process is not just a linear path of imparting knowledge but a cyclical journey where both parties learn and grow. It embodies the principle of continuous improvement – a central theme of the Fire. Through these conversations, understanding deepens, insights are shared, and a robust learning culture is fostered. The teacher becomes a learner too, embodying the 'protégé effect,' where teaching reinforces their own understanding.
The best part of this is that as a leader, you will learn more about the process that you are teaching than you ever could through practicing it alone. Through the protégé effect, your practice of teaching will lead to a more robust understanding of concepts and mutually benefit you and your apprentices. Everyone wins!
Curiosity is not just a mindset but the cornerstone of a healthy culture of growth.
Stoke the Fire
Outside, the darkness of a winter’s night has fallen over London's cobbled streets and parks.
Has a similar darkness fallen over you? A sense of apathy and resigned acceptance to circling through the same frustrating status quo? Perhaps you find yourself trapped in a routine that is equal parts comfortable and stifling, where days blend into each other without cadence, progression or purpose.
It doesn’t have to be that way. Instead, I welcome you to the Fire. I welcome you to embrace curiosity.
With a curious, learning mindset, you can transition from your comfort zone to the between-area of a growth zone. You can overcome stagnation through manageable, continuous, incremental improvements. These aren’t monumental changes that happen overnight; they’re small, consistent steps that build upon each other and gradually lead to transformation.
And, most of all, you can craft a culture of curiosity within yourself and those around you. This culture thrives on shared learning and collective growth, where each person’s insights and experiences contribute to a deeper, healthier understanding.
So stoke the Fire. Look hard at yourself and your environment. Ask “why?” And never stop learning.