“How’s The Water?” Zoom-Out

The most obvious, important realities are often the hardest to see.

David Foster Wallace (1962–2008) was widely regarded as one of the finest American writers of his generation. He also taught English and creative writing at university. In 2005 he gave a lucid and inspiring commencement speech to the graduating class at Kenyon College in the US, on finding purpose and living a meaningful, compassionate life. The speech was later published as a short book, This Is Water: Some Thoughts, Delivered on a Significant Occasion, about Living a Compassionate Life.

There are so many Zoom-Out gems in his speech that the first time I heard it I was jumping out of my seat. I humbly consider him an honorary Zoomologist.

He starts with what he calls a “little parable-ish story”:

“There are these two young fish swimming along and they happen to meet an older fish swimming the other way, who nods at them and says ‘Morning, boys. How’s the water?’ And the two young fish swim on for a bit, and then eventually one of them looks over at the other and goes ‘What the hell is water?’”

David Foster Wallace, writer, 1962–2008

He goes on to say:

“The point of the fish story is merely that the most obvious, important realities are often the ones that are hardest to see and talk about. Stated as an English sentence, of course, this is just a banal platitude, but the fact is that in the day to day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have a life or death importance, or so I wish to suggest to you on this dry and lovely morning.”

David Foster Wallace

The choice of what to think about

Later he highlights the importance of taking control of our minds: our thoughts, and where we put our attention.

“… the really significant education in thinking that we’re supposed to get in a place like this isn’t really about the capacity to think, but rather about the choice of what to think about. If your total freedom of choice regarding what to think about seems too obvious to waste time discussing, I’d ask you to think about fish and water, and to bracket for just a few minutes your scepticism about the value of the totally obvious.”

David Foster Wallace

Zoom-Out calls this one of its signposts: attention control is power. What is the water you’re swimming in right now, at work or at home, that you’ve stopped noticing?

Listen to the speech

If you haven’t heard the speech before, I highly recommend it. I come back to it from time to time to help cultivate my own Zoom-Out mindset.

For more on stepping back from the constant monologue in your head, see the Self-Observer Zoom-Out.