Exponential Human Development - Yes, but How?
Original article appeared on LinkedIn here.
We choose-
The impact of the coronavirus — in convergence with dropping oil prices, exponential technological advancement, the undeniable reality of climate change, and all the other uncertain, ambiguous, and volatile situations happening today — is shaking all of us human beings to the core. Never before in the history of humanity have so many events of this magnitude occurred at the same time, and in such quick succession; what’s happening in the world right now is truly unique. It’s affecting every single person, independent of race, nationality, faith, income, or age.
This virus has brutally leveled the playing field and is exponentially accelerating the conscious evolution of all of humanity. In doing so, it is essentially offering us the opportunity to save our species and the planet itself — a chance to protect ourselves from ourselves.
We have collectively created a situation that no one wants, and we need to co-create new ways of living. Is this a challenge like we have never faced before? Yes!
Can it be an amazing opportunity, too? Yes!
But how?
In Systems Thinking, we tend to follow five basic steps to innovate and co-create new realities:
Understand where we are and what needs to be let go.
Visualize who you want to be and what you want to co-create.
Identify the gap between where we are and where we want to be.
Co-create (prototype) actions to close the gap between the two.
Implement and continuously adjust.
STEP 1: UNDERSTAND
The following excerpt from Danaan Parry’s The Parable of the Trapeze is a great way for us to begin understanding where we are, and why it feels so uncomfortable and scary. It may be written in the first person, but the message neatly translates to what every single one of us is feeling right now.
“...every once in a while as I'm merrily (or even not-so-merrily) swinging along, I look out ahead of me into the distance and what do I see? I see another trapeze bar swinging toward me. It's empty and I know, in that place in me that knows, that this new trapeze bar has my name on it. It is my next step, my growth, my aliveness coming to get me...Each time it happens to me I hope (no, I pray) that I won't have to let go of my old bar completely before I grab the new one. But in my knowing place, I know that I must totally release my grasp on my old bar and, for some moment in time, I must hurtle across space before I can grab onto the new bar.
Each time, I am filled with terror. It doesn't matter that in all my previous hurtles across the void of unknowing I have always made it. I am each time afraid that I will miss, that I will be crushed on unseen rocks in the bottomless chasm between bars. I do it anyway. Perhaps this is the essence of what the mystics call the faith experience. No guarantees, no net, no insurance policy, but you do it anyway because somehow to keep hanging on to that old bar is no longer on the list of alternatives. So, for an eternity that can last a microsecond or a thousand lifetimes, I soar across the dark void…”
It’s been clear for a long time now that we needed to let go of our current trapeze — all the signs are there. But we’ve been too afraid to do so until COVID-19 came along and pushed us all off and out into the void.
Now, every single human being (of a certain age) is being faced with a profound existential question — what does it mean to be someone living on Carl Sagan’s “pale blue dot,” suspended in the middle of an ever-growing universe? In particular, we must come to terms with three undeniable facts, which we had previously gone to extremes to avoid facing:
Nothing is permanent.
Nothing is truly within our control.
Nothing matters more than connection and community and it begins with a connection to the Self.
Only in looking first within and then looking out for each other’s best interests will we find a life that is meaningful and worth living. We have outgrown the model of survival of the fittest. We must exponentially learn how to collaborate and co-create, from our relationships to a new economy and way of life.
Many of us come to terms with these three undeniable truths through different life experiences — often only after hitting rock bottom and humbly accepting that we need to let go of self-destructive behaviors and beliefs. That a part of us needs to die and another one needs to be born.
In the Hero’s Journey, Joseph Campbell called it the Abyss: the dark night of the soul, witness to the death, rebirth, and the true transformation of the self. It’s a moment that allows the hero or heroine to mend wrongdoings and begin living life from a higher place of consciousness. It grants them a new level of fulfillment and appreciation for what it means to be awake and alive.
The Abyss is key to understanding how we move past what feels like the “death” of our previous ways of life and open our hearts to a new rebirth — of ourselves, and the world.
A more personal and deeper way to look at the situation is by finding out what’s going on in our brains during times like these?
Neuroscience has taught us that when we are first faced with a challenge of this magnitude, our fight, flight, or freeze response gets activated — the most primitive part of the brain, what some call our “reptilian brain,” takes over. The same response we would have if we were facing a sabertooth tiger in the face.
In modern life, it means our mind begins projecting all the worst-case scenarios it's collected over a lifetime. You will be struck by images of empty supermarket shelves, loved ones laying on their deathbeds, bankruptcy, scenes from movies or books of pandemics, hurricanes, floods, and other disasters.
When that happens, our bodies create the necessary chemical imbalances (shots of cortisol) and tighten our muscles to prepare us for survival. Under such stress, our immune systems become compromised and our probability of getting a disease increases.
In nature, these shocks to the system were meant to be temporary. We either survived danger or we escaped it, and our bodies and minds were able to recover, allowing our executive functioning to take over.
“Executive function relates to abilities to differentiate among conflicting thoughts, determine good and bad, better and best, same and different, future consequences of current activities, working toward a defined goal, prediction of outcomes, expectation based on actions, and social ‘control’...”
However, in the world of 24/7 technological connection — with more than 3.8 billion people on social media, over 2 billion on Whatsapp, and apps designed to keep our minds hijacked and addicted to fear — every new notification, meme, article, or video about the latest coronavirus development or stock market drop has become a life or death situation. We embrace constant stress and terror and find ourselves unable to return to normal.
In addition, over the past 20 years, science has been gaining a better understanding of the implications of mirror neurons, telesomatic experiences, and DMILS — direct mental interaction with living systems, or the ability of human thought to influence the living world around it, particularly when groups of people experience trauma. The work seems to show that we can, in some form, actually hear other people’s thoughts and experience other people’s pain.
So, we are living a perfect storm:
COVID-19 and all it brings.
Non-stop activation of our reptile brains, flooding us with cortisol, weakening our immune system, and making us feel (most of the time) hopeless and depressed.
Real negative thought and emotional contagion are also at play.
It’s time we collectively take a big exhale and a gentle inhale — we must be compassionate with ourselves and with each other as we hold each other tight, step into the unknown and transform into the best and highest version of humanity.
STEP 2: VISUALIZE
Understanding gives us an idea of where we are in the NOW. Visualization and imagery allow us to CO-CREATE IN THE FUTURE we want to step into, whom we want to be and the role we want to play. The brain can't distinguish between something we vividly imagine and something we are experiencing in reality.
As discussed above, the constant influx of images and news (real and fake) make it very challenging to visualize how this perfect storm can, in fact, be transformed into a better way of life for all and the planet. Especially if you have been recently laid off, having to lay off people, concerned about having to close down your business, or worst yet being diagnosed with COVID-19 or any other illness. I want to be clear that I am not turning a blind eye to the difficult situation most of us are facing in one way or another. Still, I am saying that there are options to how we experience whatever situation we are in and how learning to use visualization to our advantage, offers a kinder, more compassionate and empowering way.
And it starts with our own Personal Manifesto of who we want to be during this particular time in history.
In this step, I am inviting you to take some time to write on a piece of paper your Personal Manifesto. Write what you are grateful for; what you are committed to achieving; your intentions of who you will be; how you will treat others; what you will do when faced with direct challenges; your strategies to lift yourself up when you are feeling down. Read this Manifesto first time in the morning as soon as you wake-up, print it and put it in different parts of the home where you can see it. Invite your family and friends to do a joint manifesto and review it often. Visualizing yourself as a hero of your own story in this time in history will allow you to open your visualization lens and to help others, to unleash your creativity, to create groups, even new businesses.
Here is mine:
I am so grateful to be alive, to experience life with all my senses; to be surrounded by loved ones; to have all my basic needs met
I make feeling good a priority
My daily non-negiotables are exercise, meditation, proper hydration, sleep, and excellent nutrition
I will think of myself as the type of person who can and does... and I will act that way*( from Altmba Manifesto)
I commit to doing my best to spread a helping hand, hope, joy, truth, and information that empowers others and helps them get in touch with the highest and best version of themselves
I will be compassionate with myself and others
I give myself permission to have a YES day- or two
I give myself permission to fail, to get it wrong....to be human- and to ask for help and forgiveness
Every day, I will care about people and the world around me... Specifically, I will: a) reach out to people that have made a difference in my life and will let them know how important they are to me; b) reach out to people I don't know so well and even strangers and offer to help them or share something to lift their spirits and; c) find a local business and/or person I can support- either by buying something from them or making a donation
I will step out of my comfort zone, rise to the occasion with courage and do one daily thing that scares me
And above all, I commit to keeping my heart open no matter what
Once you have your Personal Manifesto, you can then begin to visualize the goals you will achieve during the next 3- 4 weeks. Here are a few questions to get you started:
How do I help end this virus as soon as possible, with no more cases and no more fatalities?
How do I help build the social foundation and infrastructure that is required to create a better world?
How do I use this experience to become a better version of myself?
What new things can I learn, and how can I make it a fun experience?
How do I make the most of this experience?
STEP 3: IDENTIFY
To identify the gap that exists between where you are and where you want to be, there are 3 tools I would like to share with you.
1) Use the Arizona Integrative Outcomes Scale, below. Your sense of wellbeing is directly linked to what you are thinking and believing at any given time.
2) Use Mark Waldman’s C.R.A.P Board as a tool to stop the brain from ruminating on problems, fears, and weaknesses. C.R.A.P. stands for Conflicts, Resistances, Anxieties, Procrastination and any other problem you think you have. For each negative thought, evaluate its level of truth at this very moment.
For example: “I’m going to get sick.” or “The world is going to collapse” The truth is that, at the moment, they’re likely just projected fears, and so they should be at zero. Some fears may have a higher truth score for different people; knowing which ones to focus your attention on will allow your brain to address these problems while exercising all of your leadership skills.
3) Review your manifesto and your top 3 goals for the next 3-4 weeks. For each goal include a list of all the resources you currently have to make these goals a reality and to live your manifesto daily. Identify what may be your biggest pitfalls and challenges and come up with a plan to mitigate them. If your children are off on "Springbreak" on your sofa watching a Netflix Series and you find yourself frequently sucked into it, come up with a strategy to get out of the hypnosis state and back to work.
The list of your potential roadblocks and solutions will give you an opportunity to apply a growth mindset to any situation that can sabotage your good intentions. If history was to record your behavior during these times, what would it say about who you were and what you prioritized? Ultimately, how you will show up during this crisis is up to you.
STEP 4: CO-CREATE
Notice I said “co-create” and not “create” — social distancing does not mean abandoning social connection. Remember how I mentioned that one of humanity’s undeniable truths is that we need each other to thrive? Well, whatever plan you design here should take that into account — who is on your team? In doing so, you can get used to the idea that you don’t have to go at it alone anymore; you don’t need to pretend you have your life together and swallow your fears, weaknesses, or pain by yourself. Better yet, celebrate life and accomplishments with others, be inspired by the multiple videos being shared by the heartwarming human beings serenading each other and dancing together- from their balconies.
I will not get into the details of how you should design an effective prototype or action plan here; I’m preparing a more in-depth guide for that that I’ll share soon. But, to get you started, I recommend considering how to leverage and nurture your Body, Mind, Source, and Digital capacities.
STEP 5: IMPLEMENT
Many of us want to radically transform ourselves from caterpillars into butterflies. We want to erase our negative beliefs and emotions all at once, install new empowering habits, become more patient, have more meaningful conversations with others from day one. In reality, things are different. Remember to bring all aspects of yourself along the way, and that our brains hate change and will do whatever they can to avoid it. This is why I am a big advocate for approaching this time the Kaizen way and taking consistent micro-steps towards progress. For example, if you aren’t used to exercising, start by just moving your body to one of your favorite songs. Every day, try adding in a few more songs, and so on and so forth. I would also encourage you to give yourself 3 “permission slips” a month — be gentle with yourself if you eat a whole bag of chips, or binge-watch Netflix for half a day.
All of this is to say — this unprecedented moment in time presents us with a choice: to step into our highest and best expression of what it means to be human, or succumb to our fears. It is up to us to decide how this next chapter is written, and whether or not we will consciously design the next phase of human evolution in a way that works for everyone and everything.