CHANGING MINDS
I’m confident that we’ve all experienced individuals who have difficulty changing their minds about anything; we may even call them stubborn. As we try to change behavior (think about that for a moment as it relates to your children) rather than changing a mindset perspective, we begin to see that as a personality trait.
That mindset/personality labeling regularly leads to finding like-minded others who help reinforce our mindset as we accept the group’s talking points without question. To examine the Signs of the Times in the US demands objectivity. Otherwise, it creates emotions triggering fight or flight reactions. Sadly, because our action of choice is flight more often than not, our mindset is justified by a perception of lacking power to impact “the times”. Flight, as a construct, can be active or passive. Active is to engage in the fight; passive ignores the reality before us.
Addressing these times demands reframing. How do we look at the current situation of conflict, derision, violent rhetoric, and acts? Do we shrug our shoulders and maintain this too shall pass or do we examine the root cause of these behaviors in the aggregate? I propose that these behaviors are rooted in anger, in distrust, in the frustration of being less than those in power all around us.
Reframing is a simple idea coupled with complex needed action. The idea is to walk with an individual to examine internal models that created the original mindset. I am frequently labeled “a driven woman”, which I cannot deny; I celebrate it. Where does that come from? Without question, my Mom. Her parents were immigrants (legal) coming from Poland with little to sustain them in this country, especially since they didn’t know the language.
There was a time when my Mother became the family breadwinner because it was difficult for her Father to find work because he was hampered by the language. She proudly told stories of the prejudice she endured but it only fueled her motivation to succeed. She used her creativity to modify her limited wardrobe with scarves and belts to create anew.
Our long-term objective is to begin a culture change in the US by learning what it is, why it is as it is, and what to do about it.. This objective requires small dialogue communities where all are equal, all are leaders in their representative thought, and all can speak with respectful silence and deep listening engaged by those hearing these opinions.
Your life changes the moment you make a new, congruent, and committed decision
Tony Robbins
