Embracing inner development for a better future
There’s a different way of being, thinking, relating, collaborating and acting.
📸Olaf Baldini’s Generative Scribing, IDG Summit, Unlocking Future Possibilities
What a mess we’re leaving for the next generation!! I often think about what kind of world my son will grow up into… he’s 12 now so it’s not some distant future but the reality of the world we’re living in now with so much conflict, hatred and division amongst us that we’ve forgotten about some of the more complex challenges like climate change that threaten our very existence.
For the better part of last week, I was in a bubble of hope as I listened to inspiring speakers and collaborated with colleagues around the world at the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) Summit.
Don’t get me wrong, I am still hopeful, inspired to take action and will continue contributing towards a better world but it’s easy to become disappointed, frustrated and even at a loss of words especially after the weekend and what transpired in Australia and the tragedy that’s unfolding in the middle east.
The overwhelming emotions we feel in times of stress and uncertainty can make us feel like it’s easier to give into despair and give up... What’s the point? We’re all doomed!
This seems to be sentiment with a lot of teenagers in the world right now and we had a discussion about that sentiment with my (almost) teenage son. As a family we discussed the referendum in Australia and that we don’t all have to be homogenous in our thinking and it’s ok to have different perspectives but what important is that we listen to each other’s perspectives.
I often reference Otto Scharmer's insight that listening is the most underrated leadership and human skill. Listening is an underlying current IDGs which encourages us to adopt an open and learning mindset, presence, perspective, connectedness, humility, empathy, and compassion.
As Erik Fernhom, Founder of 29K Foundation said at the IDG Summit we have become unsustainable by “acting out the fantasy of separation in a connected reality”.
I don’t think anyone would deny that human beings are the cause of the problems we are facing today but we are not broken. We can change, we can develop, and we can grow. That’s why our inner development is so crucial right now.
“Man does not simply exist but always decides what his existence will be, what he will become the next moment. By the same token, every human being has the freedom to change at any instant.”
Viktor Emil Frankl, Man's Search for Meaning
We have the ability to change, evolve, and grow, making inner development critical at this juncture. There is a different way of being, thinking, relating, collaborating and acting but we have to let go of our fears.
As Seth Godin writes in his book, The Song of Significance “We live in fear. Ancient fears. The fear of isolation, rejection and physical peril. We evolved and survived because of this fear, not in spite of it.”
In our modern world, these ancient fears persist and often work against our progress. To pave the way for inner development we must confront and overcome these fears.
Embracing the IDGs can lead us toward a more harmonious and sustainable future to tackle the biggest challenges of our time. By recognising our interconnectedness, we can pave the way for a better world, one in which we take responsibility for the legacy we leave for the next generation.
In Otto Scharmer’s session at the IDG Summit, he quoted Nobel Laureate Ilya Prigogine.
“When a system is far from equilibrium, small islands of coherence in a sea of chaos have the capacity to lift the entire system to a higher order.”
The smallest island is us and within each of us we have the capacity to change the world.
You can learn more about the IDG’s in this short video or IDG website.