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A List of Dramatic Life Patterns

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See all patterns together

by Oliver Ding

August 14, 2026

Patterns are not functions. While functions describe what people do (curate experiences, discover possibilities, develop strategies), patterns describe the structural configurations through which development unfolds across time and space. They are topological rather than functional — concerned with positions, relations, sequences, and timing rather than with categories of action.

Patterns are:

  • Recurring structures that appear across different contexts
  • Emergent from practice rather than prescribed by theory
  • Dramatic in the sense that they involve turning points, stakes, and consequences
  • Actionable once recognized — they can be strategically engaged

The concept of Dramatic Life Pattern refers to those structural configurations in development that are significant enough to warrant attention, study, and strategic engagement. Not every pattern is dramatic — only those that can dramatically shape developmental trajectories.

The Seed of Dramatic Life Pattern: The GAP Projects


GAP Projects represent a temporal pattern: the structural opportunities that exist between formal projects. These “After” and “Before” projects — such as Creative Life Curation and Creative Life Discovery — occupy the gaps between major endeavors. They serve as reflection points, transition spaces, and moments of strategic choice. The timing of GAP projects is itself a pattern: recognizing when to pause, curate, or explore can dramatically affect developmental outcomes.

Patterns Already Discovered


Several patterns have already emerged through the projects documented in this book, though they have not yet been fully theorized.

I categorized these patterns in the following four categories:

  • The Before - After dimension
  • The Subject - Object dimension
  • The Objective - Outcome dimension
  • The Part – Whole dimension

The Before - After Dimension

  • Possible Projects – Actual Projects
  • Creative Life Curation
  • Creative Life Discovery
  • Possible Projects vs. Actual Projects
  • Closing – Unfolding
  • Generative Confluence
  • Watershed
  • Revisiting and Rebuilding

The Subject - Object Dimension

  • Appropriation
  • Appreciation
  • Transformation
  • Re-engagement
  • Prediction
  • Projction
  • Attachment
  • Co-Becoming
  • Co-Anticipating

The Objective – Outcome

  • Scalable Focus
  • Cognitive Flood
  • End and Means
  • Advancing and Analyzing (AA)
  • By-product
  • Unfinished Projects

The Part – Whole

  • Main vs. Side
  • Curativity vs. Spilitivity
  • Indirection Activity
  • Self-referential Activity
  • Center vs. Circle
  • Keystone and Last Straw