How to Change the World?
My daughter, many years ago, waiting for the bus on the first day of school.
““If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change”.”
My brother and I were talking last night. One of the things that he is very passionate about is seeing the world be a better place. But how do you do that?
Recognize Your Decisions About the World
First, it’s important to realize that you are the one wanting the world to change. You are the one labeling the world as needing to change. This is not a fact, but your opinion, no matter how passionate you are. This does not mean that you cannot want a better world, but at least be conscious of the fact that you are the one labeling it as negative. Sometimes we like labeling things, in particular the world, so that we can say that we are powerless, or that “we need to fight!” The labeling that people do, including you, is part of what causes the problem in the first place.
What Causes Problems?
So let’s look more at why there are problems in the first place. We could say that it’s politicians and leaders making poor decisions. Maybe it’s the people who vote for politicians and people who are not operating in their best interests? Maybe it’s because people are uneducated? Maybe it’s because people believe that it’s not possible to make the world a better place? Maybe it’s because people lack integrity?
I have met many “good people” who deliberately do bad things. For example, they are employed by a company that does bad things, and they say, “Well, I’m just doing my job.”
These are all viable reasons. But what is the cause behind them all? First, when we blame, we are holding the world accountable, and we can’t change others. On top of it, other people frequently don’t see themselves as doing anything wrong.
If someone were to tell you that your point of view was incorrect, how would you feel about it? Is your knee-jerk response to say and genuinely mean “Thank you for letting me know. I appreciate you telling me. What should I believe?”
For example, I live in Massachusetts, and people here think they are more educated than others. I want to say upfront that I am not trying to criticize Massachusetts but to say that I will start with my home state and my people first as an example. My intent is always to look at the board in my own eye before looking at the speck in others.
People here want to say that it is a fact that Massachusetts people are the most educated. But it’s not. It may be a fact that they hold more degrees, or higher-level degrees, but does holding a degree necessarily make someone more educated?
The government largely guides the education system, so doesn’t it also possibly mean that these people are the most compliant with the government and the least able to think for themselves? And even if it is true that they are more educated, does it make them superior? Some of the most evil things are done by educated people. I grew up in upstate New York, where I was taught woodworking, cooking, sewing, and consumer economics, and yet people here are not taught these things. Are they fully educated?
I love my home state, but the point is that fundamentally, the reason that the world is the way that it is is two-fold, and really one-fold in the end. First, people feel disempowered, and so they don’t always make the most empowered decision. Secondly, they blame others. They blame the world. “The world out there needs to change.”
In the end, we are the world out there. To others, we are that world. I saw a sign in someone’s yard the other day that said something like “Let’s bring back empathy and kindness.” But you can feel that the intent is not to communicate “We at this home intend to be more loving and kind,” but instead “You bad people out there need to be kinder.” The sign feels hateful despite using positive words. For example, I don’t feel like if I belonged to a different political party than them, that they would welcome me with open arms.
If we want other people to see that they, too, have power, we have to be an example. Not by attacking the world, because remember to other people we are that world, and most of us don’t respond well to being attacked and criticized. That doesn’t encourage us. That just guilts people and undermines them. When people attack and criticize you, does it inspire you to want to change or to get defensive?
If you want to change others, you have to help them see that they, too, are empowered. But if you feel you need others to change to make you happy, you are just like the others, and change will not occur. Instead, you have to change yourself first and show people that you have power over your life. You do that by being an example. That is what Gandhi meant by his quote.
At first, this might seem like you’re avoiding the problem, but you’re not. This is not about not doing anything and being passive. It’s about taking positive actions that will actually get results rather than just getting people to make temporary changes that the next politician will cancel. Gandhi, for example, said that he didn’t just want the British government to allow India to be sovereign, but that they should part ways as friends. Keep that in mind. You have the same power as Gandhi.
The World is Making You Unhappy; You Are Doing it to Yourself
When you step back and look at your life experience and how you feel about the world, fundamentally, you’re having an emotional experience. You want the world to change so that you can be happy. But the world will never be perfect enough to make you happy, because the world doesn’t control the way that you feel.
All of your feelings are based upon your beliefs. You have to change yourself if you want the world to change. As I mentioned, this is not simply wordplay, and this will give you an action plan to change the world. In some cases, you will see the world doesn’t need to be changed; you’re just stubbornly resisting positive change. I’m sure you can find examples of people who are fighting politics and agendas that will actually serve them, but fight because of their negative beliefs. I always remember that I am doing the same thing whenever I criticize.
How To Change the World
Own Your Feelings
Here is how you actually change the world. This is not the only way, but a way. First, own your feelings. Don’t blame the world for things not being perfect. You might even ask yourself, “What benefit do I get by blaming others? Why would I want to decide the world is bad and these people are trying to do bad things? Why would I choose to believe that these people are stupid and evil? What do I get out of it?”
Define a Clear Positive Goal
Second, be clear about what you want to see. State this in the positive. Recently, in my town, I saw an organization that listed one of its agenda points as “To preserve the environment.” To me, this is a negative statement that they have tried to disguise as a positive one. But what does it mean? Of course, we want a nice environment. Who doesn’t? The real message is that people are afraid that the environment will invariable get worse, and that there is a price to pay. The message seems to say the best we can do is to slow it down and stop it.
A more positive statement would be “To increase the quality of the environment.”This doesn’t say the environment is bad. It simply says that it would be nice to see it as better. This doesn’t stop people from doing things that the people who want to “preserve the environment” dislike, but instead focuses on finding a positive way to meet both agendas.
Years ago, for example, and I think it was in Switzerland, some company wanted to build some sort of highly polluting factory on a river. Rather than simply saying “no,” the government said, “Yes, if you make the water coming out of your factory cleaner than the water coming in.” In other words, the factory improved the environment. In addition, I think that whatever the company did to solve that problem always allowed them to produce their product more efficiently and with higher quality standards. There was no price to pay other than coming up with a creative solution.
Focus on Feelings
Bringing this writing back directly to how you can change the world, once you have identified what you want to see, there is a way to make it happen. You don’t have to be passive. The way to do that is to focus on how you would feel if things were the way that you wanted.
Make a list of those feelings. How would you feel? Happy? Excited? Calm? Satisfied?
Remember, the mind is a satellite dish, not a biological computer. As you focus on feelings, you tune your mind to receiving new thoughts and ideas. Feelings attract thoughts and ideas for action. As you do, ideas and thoughts will come to you. They may have seemingly nothing to do with the thing that you actually want, but they are what you need to do. The actions that come to you will be positive actions that feel good and make you happy.
In my case, when I think about a better world, and in my case, wanting trains, I am not inclined to call my politician and lobby for better trains; instead, I am inclined to do things like this, write. I am inclined to invest in projects that empower both me and others. This empowerment is what helps all of us be better and make the environment more ripe for positive changes. Maybe there is something better than trains that I am not considering. Maybe there is some future technology or way to give a better result. I don’t know, but I can make the world more ripe for positive change by being the first to do what I can.
And lastly, if you want to change, you have to take action. Follow through on the ideas that came to you. Those are the actions of the person who feels the way that you want to feel. The way you embody those emotions is by taking those actions. Be the person that you want to be. Be the person who lives in a positive world where everything goes well.. Commit to it. Do it. Play your part.
