How to Dream with a Prospective Partner

All partnerships start with the possibilities of something different and better.  Everyone has the capacity to dream; but most adults are out of practice.  This makes dreaming even harder to do with a prospective partner!

So where do you start?

Questions are a great way to frame a conversation about the possibilities of working together.  Practice asking open ended questions (see below), instead of close ended or factual questions.  While important, factual questions can easily stall or end a possibilities conversation.  Dreaming is about potential – for you, your partner, and the people or causes you want to serve.

What happens when you see the possibilities of partnering way before your partner?  How do you wake up their dream muscles?

Tips to help your partner dream:

1. Discover what is a top priority for your partner
2. Find a connection between your priorities and their priorities
3. Be prepared to offer ideas in the form of questions
4. Ask open ended questions

When the dream muscles have been inactive for a long time, finding the words to describe what you want might be a challenge.  Engaging the body and your senses help.   Singing, writing, drawing, creative arts, music, playing an instrument or walking can help engage different parts of the brain that are needed for creativity and dreaming.

Here are three questions to help you get started dreaming with your partner:

1. What might we accomplish together, that we couldn’t accomplish alone?
2. What would make the biggest difference or contribution to a current priority?
3. How might the world be different if we were on the same team?

Now go and grab some crayons and markers, and draw out your possibilities on canvas paper!  Let images, lines and colours do the talking, while you awaken the dormant dream muscles!

Purposeful Partnering!