Change! Isn’t it what we are all striving for, and yet it’s one of the most difficult things to attain. There can be countless explanations as to why it is so. My view on it involves inertia and how it’s easier to follow the same patterns even when they are faulty since taking a different route entails uncertainty. And most human beings don’t tolerate uncertainty well. Often, it leads to anxiety that has been taking over people in great numbers. This becomes a vicious cycle that is beyond people’s awareness. Consequently, changing the state of things on mass or global scales becomes even more difficult. What we are witnessing right now resembles mass anxiety that promotes irrational behavior.
So what can be done about it? Of course, we can start with ourselves and become the change we want to experience. We also need to start treating others like they matter as well as choose leaders that are open-minded, aware, flexible, and empathetic.
The majority of people are blind to the fact that division produces more differences and that our leaders have been using division methods for the longest time. As a result, people aren’t taught how to empathize, and our society lacks empathy. Everything in our world is connected. What is happening now will echo many times over if we don’t raise awareness and reflect on what is driving us and where will our thinking and actions drive us.
What we are witnessing are the symptoms of long term division. Unfortunately, without the up to date, transformative and empathetic leaders, change we are striving for will be very difficult to attain. The absence of capable “change leaders” reflects how most of society wants the “right” choices to be made for them. People don’t question the tactics being used either. Are they led by fear, conditioning, and manipulative tactics or transparency, understanding, and vision? What is their true agenda? How do we choose the right ones to lead us to change?
How about a view from above? It looks like we need more of a transformational change that doesn’t just alter but brings us to a place we won’t regress from. That type of change is attained only through teamwork and collaboration. Place our attention on what unites us, and that’s where our energy will be directed. What should we be looking for in our leaders, and what should they be inspiring to attain sustainable change?
Anything in our world can be done better in cooperation by creating teams, aligning visions, and working for the common good, not pointing out the differences, labeling, insulting, and snapping at others for what they were taught to believe. These behaviors make humans regress, become defensive, and always on the lookout for the negative. People driven by fear and mass hysteria are easily controllable, unlike open-minded, free thinkers who are not afraid of change and challenges. It’s much easier to manipulate someone who’s hurt, doesn’t feel safe or loved, and accepted. When people feel understood and supported, they are grateful, pay attention to the positive, see opportunities and solutions, and connect with others more easily. We are diverse, and that makes our perspectives differ, that’s not a weakness, it’s a strength, we only need to realize it and use it as a resource, not a limitation. Empathy, not judgment; that’s what will facilitate change.
And for great leaders to rise to the task, we need to show them that we are worth leading, understand, and respect each other, and unite over the causes that will bring sustainable change.