The world is a wonderful place. And the problems we see all over are solvable.
But we don’t believe that. Our day-to-day is filled with real, thorny issues and even tragic outcomes. It all seems overwhelming.
So zoom out. Like Archimedes, we can always find the right place to stand. We get insights about how people, values, and systems operate together or don’t. We can paint a bigger, more satisfying picture. We then will find the little changes that snowball into bigger solutions.
From this broader perspective, we can be the solution finders who solve even the thorniest problems for our organizations, communities, and even planet.
Ready to give it a try?
In your corner,
Michael
PS: How can we tell we have zoomed out and found the right place to stand? We feel good. In fact, the way to zoom out is to feel good, then act.
PPS: How can we tell if we haven’t zoomed out? We feel bad. We get stuck on thoughts like, “This will never change. This will take too long. This is too hard. It’s their fault. Humanity sucks. My boss sucks. I suck.” Feeling better is not about simply negating these thoughts. It’s about training ourselves to zoom out, find anything we believe that does feel better. Then lather, rinse, repeat.