On Being the Change I Wish to See

What is a paradigm?

Here are some definitions from a couple of different dictionaries:

• A set of assumptions, concepts, values, and practices constituting a view of reality (Google define:paradigm)
• A philosophical or theoretical framework of any kind (Merriam-Webster Online)

I think the first definition hits the nail squarely on the head. Here is a list of some paradigms from the past and present so we can wrap our heads around the concept better.

List of Paradigms:

• the world is flat
• the world is round
• there are only 4 elements: earth, fire, wind, and water
• there are 118 elements as listed in the periodic table of the elements
• the sun revolves around the Earth
• the Earth revolves around the sun and is a very small part of the universe
• disease is a punishment rained down upon mankind by the gods for bad deeds
• disease is caused by any of the following: bacteria, viruses, parasites, other microscopic organisms, mistakes in transcription or translation of DNA when cells replicate, and poor health habits
• a good credit score is essential for survival in the modern world
• you can’t live without debt
• all things exist without our actual experience of them
• reality is all the stuff out in the world
• thoughts are not reality
• we can’t create our own reality
• we can and do create our own reality consciously, and if we don’t do it consciously it happens subconsciously anyway
• education itself is the key to success
• there are Ph.D.s who are unemployed bums
• learning is best measured by standardized tests
• learning is best measured by the ability to assess real-life situations and successfully solve them
• teaching children to think and solve problems should be done only when the material for the standardized tests has been learned adequately
• science and religion are always at opposite ends of the spectrum
• faith and religion are the same thing
• bicycle seats can be redesigned using other concepts than the saddle of a horse.

The list could go on for quite some time until we cover every area of life as we understand it. The point is, we have a set of beliefs built around our experiences and teachings of our world and we take many things for granted. Those things are our paradigms.

If history is any teacher (and it’s generally the best one), our offspring will later find that many of our paradigms are not true, just as we have found many of the paradigms our ancestors believed were not true.

Why should we examine and discuss our paradigms?

The best reason is if we never question why we do what we do or why we believe what we believe, we will never change the world for the better.

Change doesn’t happen unless we do something differently or think differently or come up with different ideas.

Our modern world is testament to the importance of changing our paradigms.

Please leave comments and let’s discuss our paradigms. I’d love to hear what you think.

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written by joubess