Are We the Problem We Refuse to See?

Looking at what is happening in the world – whether in politics, personal relationships, corporate life, the economy, or society as a whole – I find myself wondering: is the world truly getting worse, or am I simply becoming more aware of what has always been there?

Is it a shift in “the person I am”, a change in “the world out there”, or perhaps both?

Are we in the final scene of Gladiator 2, where we find a way to come together, to realize this dream of Rome? Or are we turning the last pages of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, giving up and destroying ourselves?

The way I see it, what we need is not more of the same but something fundamentally different – a shift in how we see ourselves and the world. We need to step out of the comfortable, safe, and familiar box we’ve created for ourselves – even if it means we won’t like what we see.
 

Are we the problem we refuse to see?

In my understanding, leadership comes with recognizing that it is not “us” versus “them” but rather “we”. From a responsible point of view, no matter how deeply I may believe others are at fault, I am always part of what has shaped the current reality.

As the “the person I am”, I am always interacting with “the world out there”, consciously and unconsciously co-creating results and generating interpretations of all that's happening in the world.

Doing something different could mean looking at all the things in “the world out there” that I find challenging (people and topics) and asking myself:

• How come I have chosen to believe this to be “true” and “false”?
• What have I decided is “possible” or “impossible” in this relationship?
• What am I resisting, and what does my resistance reveal about me?
• Who am I in this relationship?
• What do I see in others that I don’t like about myself?
• How am I responsible for what has happened?

As Michael Jackson sang, change begins with the man in the mirror – with the “the person I am”.

By addressing my own internal conflicts directly, I grow and move forward more effectively. As Carl R. Rogers wrote in 1961 in his Book On Becoming a Person: A Therapist's View of Psychotherapy:

“The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change.”
 

A change in the person I am.

Only through this change can I authentically enroll others in a shared vision and generate their commitment to taking effective action to create a new future.

Do you want to keep doing more of the same, or are you, your team, or your organization ready to be the change?