Vignette
Throughout my academic journeys, I had one recurring challenge: how to chew and pour I am the type who always wants to understand the whys/hows(the principles/the reasoning) behind every topic/ concept. However, most of our exams were recalls. That also reflected on our group discussions. As a result, I felt I wasn’t benefiting directly from those discussions and stayed away a number of times. My group members were not happy because they felt my contribution was invaluable to them. It dawned on me that I had to think beyond my personal interests and look at the overall picture (rethinking also made me realise that teaching others also deepened my own understanding of the concepts).
🎡 Proverbial epistle
No one washes the hands of others without wetting his/ her own hands. Any life lived for itself dies to self.
🥳 Random thoughts
- What is systems thinking?
- Do we have systems thinkers?
- How can we think systems?
🔓 Introspection
It’s so natural for most of us to get involved with only the endeavours we perceive to have direct benefits to us. Oftentimes in our attempt to grab it all to ourselves, we lose sight of how our actions/inactions impact on others. For our overall survival, however, thinking systems has more benefits for everyone.
😴 Systems thinking is having a holistic perspective on issues by identifying the various contributory factors and how they interrelate towards the attainment of the set goals so as to put in deliberate measures to bring out the best outcome.
😴 This is an invaluable approach to the understanding of the nature of why situations are the way they are, and how to go about improving them.
😴Until we get to a point where we realise that our collective good supersedes our individual successes, we can never achieve our highest potential.
😴 Systems thinking will help us situate our individual performances in the overall good. We shall concentrate more on the whys/ how/ when/ who/ whom of doing things and push each other towards the greatest good.
😴Our educational systems will focus on growing minds/cohorts with a clear picture of our collective good and always value everyone’s welfare/contribution.
😴 Our religious organisations will preach collective good over individual successes.
😴Our political systems will make the best use of all humans to manage our resources prudently and our voting pattern will also reflect same.
😴Our families/ relationships will see life as a contribution and not a competition and encourage everyone’s welfare and work towards our common good and not undermine one another.
😴Our community/ organisation will be built upon our individual strengths acting in concert towards the bigger picture. We will not outsmart one another.
😴 At our personal level, our life, like everything in the world around us, will be seen as a system. We will take the things around us and turn them into ideas and concepts that can be broken down, analysed and improved upon. We will be open to ideas which naturally do not fit into our schemas but have the potential to transform our collective good, develop courage and integrate selfless compassion into our problem solving. That is thinking outside the box!
🕯️The million cedi questions are: do we know the overall good? What is our contribution to it? Are we really doing our part or willing to see systems work?
😴 If our response to the last question is yes, then, there is the need to develop the four essential systems thinking skills: making distinctions, organising systems, recognising relationships, and taking multiple perspectives.
😴Becoming a good systems thinker starts with a strong commitment to being aware of our ecosystem and develop the needed skills and link them to the overall good.
🕯️ Isn’t it about time we thought systems and acted same too?
🕯️ Serenity 💡
A bad system can mess up a good person anytime. May we always develop the discipline of thinking whole. Amen