#33 - THE USUAL BITES YOU

ISSUE #33

There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children. – Nelson Mandela

MAKING MONEY

In my last post Success Despite Education [here] I severely criticized traditional thinking that keeps on clinging to the past as a benchmark for the future. They think their divine role is to shape and mold the thinking of their students. Raise them as good law-abiding Catholics. Or Muslims, or communists, or vegans, or whatever. Parents think they are good parents if they clone their kids in their (worn-out) self-image. I disagree.

The so-called morally decent people keep on shaping the way people think instead of shaping their ability to think. They lock up people in mental jails, instead of setting them free.

What they need to do is stimulate curiosity, encourage an open mind, and teach them how to learn and apply what is learned in collaboration. The content of the knowledge is less important because version 2.0 will be out soon.

Education is about making money. It is about jocking for the position in the rat race for middle-class jobs (and up). Life is like F1 race – pole position is everything. And – never forget - being a well-formed, socially intelligent person is very helpful in the rat race. It is never only about the specific skillset to do the job. The job is part of a broader (people) system that you need to manage effectively as well. But to get yourself a good place at the table means to understand that the race starts early at school. Why do you think some people are fighting to get their two-year-old's into the best kindergartens? Do they know something the masses tend to ignore? It is all about pole position.

SHIFTING PARADIGMS

The concept of paradigm shifts is defined as "an important change that happens when the usual way of thinking about or doing something is replaced by a new and different way."

This piece is about personal paradigm shifts and it is a critical aspect of the PI Philosophy. We convert - on average - non-curious, non-open-minded people into curious open-minded people. We seek a personal paradigm shift in their thinking.

Phase I

Normal science: You have your set of theories that you use to approach problems and make decisions. However, when using only what is known, you sooner or later encounter anomalies that cannot be explained by the currently accepted theories and mental models.

Regardless of your environment, your decisions (your thinking) determine (in part) the course of your life in all aspects. If things structurally don’t go well (in a specific area), you might start to consider that your views (set of theories) are not as helpful as you think. Do you have the ability to admit this? Or do you keep on doubling down on your old beliefs?

Phase II

Extraordinary research: When the unknowns found in the previous stage cannot be solved by the current paradigm, you reach a state of crisis - "What should we do now?" To address this crisis, scientists push the boundaries of the current, considered normal science, to form new theories through extraordinary research. You no longer can rely on what is known. You enter a state of exploration to find answers.

Do you have the ability to truly re-evaluate your current situation? Are you willing to consider that the road you are on leads to further failure or at least to no real solutions? That is not easy to do. Do parents and schools train you for this? No, they don’t. And that is too bad because it might be one of the most important skill sets in your personal and business life. Honest critical self-evaluation (without losing self-confidence) is one of the most important skill sets in your toolbox.

Phase III

Adoption of a new paradigm: Eventually, the research phase leads to establishing a new paradigm. A new theory that aims to explain and make what was previously an anomaly, something incomprehensible, understandable by the masses. However, this new theory often meets resistance. Not everyone agrees, and not everyone wants to accept the new order.

After thinking through your life, decision-making, and options (if any) you embrace other approaches to achieve success or progress. Your new choices might upset people in your circles. They might think you are making the wrong choices. And they could be right. Shifting your thinking does not come along with guarantees. You could fail again and have re-do the process. Life never promised you it would be easy.

Phase IV

Aftermath and revolution: In the long run, when the new idea is adopted by the masses, the new paradigm becomes the dominant one.

Although this stage is less important from a personal perspective it could still be helpful. As more and more people mainstream a certain kind of thinking, it could legitimize your actions making your life a little easier.

HARDER JOB

Of course, science is different from people's personal lives but paradigm shifts don't happen only in science. They happen within a wide variety of contexts. Shifting the paradigm in your thinking brings (material/immaterial) success a lot closer. But there is a huge problem for most people. Scientists are conditioned to accept a changing world in which ideas are constantly replaced by new ideas. The default thinking is an organism of constant renewal. There is no successful science without curiosity, self-criticism, and an open mind. Unfortunately, schools and parents do not prepare their kids and students to be able to create (small/partial) personal paradigm shifts. Sad.

It makes our job at PI a lot harder because we have to start educating it at a much older age which – by definition – is always harder to do. Where traditional thinking embraces obedient followers, Peoples’ Impact loves curious, expressive action-minded people. And that is a major paradigm shift at the social as well as the personal level. Keep on shifting till you get it right.

THE END