The Kaleidoscope Effect: Adjusting Focus

:: “He says he’s fine, he looks ok…’ 'Just make sure he’s ready...’ ‘Camera set... Roll Camera…” What a journey we have observed together so far. We are becoming fast friends and lifelong partners in this work and beyond. It's incredible to think that not too long ago, we perhaps did not see things as we do now. We've been watching our growth in real-time, that's what I like to call #RadicalSelfAwareness, a self-awareness that transcends understanding and is so autonomous that it is part of our nature. We, and definitely I, still have a way to go to get to a place where it is truly autonomous and embedded in the new processes and mental pathways we are crafting through this work. Recognizing how far we've come and how capable we are of going even further Fills Me Up! ::

Over the past months, we have worked closely together to uncover the barriers that have held us back from our mission of connecting with others with true authenticity, accepting their perspectives openly, and embedding those perspectives into our own. We have journeyed back in time to understand what may be underlying for us mentally and emotionally and have brought it back with us to more deeply understand and dismantle the hold it has had on us and our perspectives in the now. We have used this as our foundation for better understanding ourselves and how we can leverage this awareness to begin to undo the biases and prejudices that these experiences have built into our perspectives. Further, we have tasked ourselves with intentionally and consistently challenging these biases at the moment to create new ways of thinking and processing information, all with the intent of uncovering a better and more authentic way of connecting with others, particularly in those moments where their perspectives differ highly or do not at all align with our own. Such incredible work so far but that is not to say we have done things perfectly along the way. The crucial next and ongoing step is to hold ourselves accountable for our progress and commitment to challenging at an even deeper level. It is imperative to own the reality of our progress and not allow the work itself to be an excuse and deflection mechanism.

Not being aware of our progress and using the work as an excuse to continue poor behaviors is the counter of this work. Not sure if you caught it but this is an example of a negative bias attempting to be developed in real-time. The bias is that as long as I'm trying, or at least telling myself I am, this means I'm better, I'm growing, and I'm on my way to being cured! This is a true downplay of our actual progress and our conscious minds attempt to remain in control. Further, we will never arrive at any finish line as this is not the mission of the work. The work is to continue to become more and more aware of ourselves, our experiences, and the experiences of others, and this alone will never be finished. The work itself is solely about the changes we've made and will make and never about the destination. I share this from a place of experience and would like to share some of my recent realizations with you all.

It has been quite some time between this article and the last article in the series. Over these past few months, I have been challenged more than ever mentally and emotionally and as a result physically. During this pivotal time in my existence, I've done everything in my power to challenge my experiences and negative emotions as they arose. I have attempted to reconcile my lived experience through the #Lens of #TheKaleidoscopeEffect in an attempt to offset the reality of it. As I've taught, true authenticity, vulnerability, and radical self-awareness are the only paths forward so I'm going to share as openly as I can with each of you and our community.

Over the past 3 years or so, Cancer has yet again become a main antagonist of my story. Three members of my family, including my very best friend, my mom, have been battling severe and late-stage Cancer. We have lost members of our family to their battle with cancer while other family members continued their fight. Something special about the Byrd Family is that we are a family driven by love and connectedness. This is the type of love and care that makes you so proud to be witness to, making this collective lived experience ever more complex. My mom is an incredible human and is someone I always look to for guidance and assurance in my times of crisis. She stood by my side with my husband every step of the way through my journey battling Cancer. She has been battling Stage 4 Ovarian Cancer, which has metastasized to other parts of her body over the past 2 years, and I have now been by her side every single step of the way. I create safe spaces for her to share her true thoughts and feelings, ones she may not share with others. To say that this has been the most challenging experience of my life would be an understatement. Even my battle with Cancer pales in comparison to watching my favorite person, my mother, struggling physically and emotionally. Over this time, I have attempted to use the exercises and practices presented in this series to challenge myself. Not only am I experiencing trauma in real time, but The Echo, or the reverberation of my traumas, is louder than ever. I have deployed the exercises and techniques we've learned over these past few articles to challenge my negative emotions and thought patterns in an attempt to pull forward alternate perspectives. I've found myself thinking and saying things like:

• Cancer was not done with me yet and I have more to learn from this and my experience.
• I'm not sad or hurt, my mind and body are sad or hurt.
• This is part of the human experience, what can be taken from this experience?
• There is no space for negative thoughts and beliefs not rooted in a positive outcome.
• I have prepared for and accepted the reality of what may come.
• When will this come for me?

This realization has brought me to this point, do not allow the work to enable you to deflect or disassociate from the lived experiences you are having. Allow yourself to feel the feelings and exist within the lived experience itself. This is more important than analyzing the lived experience and is extremely necessary in all cases, particularly cases and experiences that are extremely difficult to process. I found that this was my way of disassociating from the reality of what was and is happening to and in my family and what was and is happening to my mom and me. That said, all the thoughts I shared above are very true statements and are normally realizations we come too far after the experience itself once we have enough time to process them. Noting that this is a highly positive indicator of how using this work and these practices can truly help us to see through a #Wider and more inclusive #Lens. However, allowing them to prevent you from the human experience is not the work, so I share this word of caution to help you be aware of the moments this may be happening in your own experience. Oddly enough, this realization and awareness was a necessary next step to carry me, and us, further into the work of #TheKaleidoscopeEffect. Can you see the path forward?

First off, thank you for allowing me to share some deep and intimate experiences and thoughts with you. This community truly serves as a safe space for me to openly share and I hope it does for you as well. I recognize that what has been shared can be difficult for many of you and could bring forward The Echo and resurface your traumas. Know that you are not alone, I am here for, and with you always!

I mentioned a path forward just a moment ago, but before we be take the next step forward, like my experience above, we must reflect and acknowledge the impasse with have reached.

Through our journey thus far, we have had our North Star, if you will, to look up and follow. That North Star is the mission of #TheKaleidoscopeEffect and how we bring this mission to life in our everyday lives and relationships. We have been steadfast, or have tried to be at least, in our efforts to challenge our biases, taken action to dismantle the root of these biases, and actively worked to #WidenOurLens to see more and differently. Where we are today is much further ahead of where we once were so be sure to take time to recognize yourself and your growth. I'm proud of you!

The path forward can be a tricky one and choosing the right path will dictate how we move through this next phase of our journey together. The realization I made earlier regarding my use of these beliefs and techniques to disassociate with my lived experiences in times of crisis is my proverbial Fork in the Road. I identified that I needed self-awareness to recognize how I was using this work not in ways driven by growth, but more so, by validation and deflection. The moment I stepped outside of myself and looked at my experiences and actions in the present, I recognized the pattern and have been actively working to address it. At this Fork in the Road, there are a few paths forward, one being maintaining the Status Quo of progress but not discomfort. But where's the fun in that? More seriously, where's the true growth in that? Progress is great but discomfort is an indicator. An indicator that we are working on something that is causing us pain and problems. When assessing our bodies for example, if we feel discomfort in a certain part of our body, we know something might be wrong in that specific area over other parts of our bodies that do not show that same discomfort. And when we apply pressure, we truly feel the immense pain this discomfort was hinting at all along. The same can be said for our psychological well-being and the impact our traumas have on our lives today. There's pain in hatred, there's pain in being hated. There's pain in feeling alone, there's pain in excluding others. The indicators are all around us and serve as the cues we must pick up on to address the areas needing attention.

None of us are exempt from the pain our actions have and most of the time we may be unaware of this. It does however manifest in some form whether mentally, emotionally, and even physically. We must choose the path of discomfort so that we can find the true source of the pain and address it directly. Only through this path can we attempt to heal these wounds and truly move forward into a life free from the control our lived experiences have on us and our happiness. So where am I going with all of this? As we reflect on our #Lens, I want us to envision it. How large is it? Can you hold it with 2 fingers? Do you need a hand, or two to hold it up? How many facets are in it? Regardless of your vision for your #Lens, we still need to #AdjustFocus and will need to continue to over the rest of our lives. Crafting new facets into it and #WideningOurLens to see more as a result. This article is titled Adjusting Focus, and this is what we have been generally discussing thus far. My realization was one of my first actions in Adjusting the Focus of my #Lens and actively crafting new facets, ways of thinking, and awarenesses into it. In psychology today and particularly in more modern or new-wave forms of therapy, approaches similar to #AdjustingFocus are becoming ever more prevalent. Rather than avoiding or expelling traumas or experiences that are triggering, these new-wave approaches are different. By using awareness and acceptance as tools, the results indicate an increased capacity to change. Let's dig deeper into these approaches and the mental processes that are taking place to enable them.

Some of us may be familiar with Cognitive Theory. More of us have most likely heard of the therapeutic approach called CBT or Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy . A slight history lesson, contemporary CBT has been linked to the development of Behavior Therapy during the early 20th century and even has trace connections to ancient philosophical traditions. In the 1950s, a psychologist and psychotherapist named Albert Ellis crafted what they referred to as Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy, a psychological therapy approach aimed at helping individuals resolve emotional/behavioral disturbances, which has been considered a precursor to CBT. In the late 1950s, a psychologist named Aaron T. Beck determined that there was more to the issue and determined that perception and other mental processes, i.e. Cognition, more heavily impacted the daily lives of their patients. This came in direct conflict with Behaviorism which claimed that it was not scientific or meaningful to assess the mental causes of specific scenarios. Fast forward a few decades and the "cognitive revolution" connected Cognitive Theory and Behavioral Theory to identify a new approach which came to be known as Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy . Over the past few decades, this practice has been a core therapeutic approach for addressing many issues patients may face and continues to evolve. Today, what is being called a new or third-wave CBT has begun to emerge new therapeutic approaches that have been crafted and aimed more deeply at addressing the experiences, and thus the perceptions, that are influencing our emotional and behavioral responses at any given moment. New therapeutic approaches like ACT or Acceptance & Commitment Therapy have become accepted and more widely used to address symptoms of anxiety or depression for example. These third-wave approaches aim more at mindfulness and attempt to help the users acknowledge, accept, and work through specific issues/triggers and thus their behavioral/emotional responses, rather than avoiding or removing triggers like with other practices.

Transparently, you will recognize many practices and approaches used in CBT as we have been using the sentiments of many of them in our work thus far. As we reflect on the work, our goal has been and will continue to be #RadicalSelfAwareness; and further, the use of this #SelfAwareness to acknowledge the perceptions influencing our emotions and reactions to enable active adjustments to our #Lens in real-time. #AdjustingFocus is the constant and recurring action of altering and enhancing the #Lens we are looking through. Neuroplasticity, which we've discussed in previous articles, shows us that our brains can change not just physically but cognitively. Embracing this fact enables us to realize that with intent, we can improve how we perceive experiences, how we accept the reality of the lived experiences of others, and how we connect with others in meaningful and constructive ways. Let's spend some time here and work through some approaches and exercises together.

I referenced ACT or Acceptance & Commitment Therapy earlier and would like to dig a bit deeper into what exactly this psychotherapeutic approach is and how it will help us as we #AdjustFocus of our #Lens. In the 1980s, psychologist and professor at the University of Nevada, Steven C. Hayes , developed what is now referred to as Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT). They came to a life-changing and perspective-alerting realization as they reflected on their own lived experiences and history of panic attacks. As a result of this awareness coupled with his knowledge of psychotherapy, he committed to stop "running from himself" and vowed to accept himself and his lived experiences. I'd be remiss not to share this powerful quote from Steven C. Hayes , "we as a culture seem to be dedicated to the idea that 'negative' human emotions need to be fixed, managed, or changed- not experienced as a part of life. We are treating our lives as problems to be solved as if we can sort through our lived experiences and keep the ones we like and throw out the rest." Powerful stuff huh? He goes on to say "acceptance, mindfulness, and values are key psychological tools needed for a transformative shift."

Generally, Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) aids in the development and expansion of Psychological Flexibility which in short is emotional openness and the ability to #Adjust and #Align your thoughts and behaviors with your goals and values while still embracing your feelings. You can expect these approaches to be used as the core processes that aim to promote Psychological Flexibility:

• Acceptance: this approach focuses directly on how we acknowledge, accept, and own all of our thoughts and emotions versus attempting to avoid, deny, or change these thoughts and emotions.
• Cognitive Defusion: this refers to altering the way we react to or distancing ourselves from distressing thoughts and feelings with the intent to mitigate the harmful effects they have on us. Some techniques used in Cognitive Defusion are Observing without Judgement, Calling Out & Labeling the Automatic Response, and even Singing the Thought.
• Being Present: this refers to Mindfulness as a whole. Ensure that we are "present" in the here and now and are intentionally observing our thoughts and feelings without judgment or the intent to change or deny them. Truly experiencing the lived experience clearly and without an #Unfocused #Lens helps to promote true behavioral change.
• Self as Context: this echoes back to our earlier articles where we discussed the Id, Ego, and Super Ego. This approach focuses on our awareness of our "selves" in any given experience and further stresses that we are more than our thoughts, feelings, and experiences and thus can choose how we perceive our surroundings with our "selves" at the center.
• Values: this approach requires us to identify and select our personal values across the varying aspects of our lives and lived experiences, and empowers us to strive to live by these principles in all experiences. Rather than leaning into the safe desire to avoid stress or adhere to the expectations of others, we must choose to lean into our values at all costs while recognizing these values may differ highly from those of others.
• Commitment to Action: as it sounds, this approach ensures that we truly Commit to Action and that we #AdjustFocus and implement changes that align with our core values. Through this, we will uncover spaces in our lived experience where we can better imbed these values which can lead to positive change. You recognize some of these tactics that are a starting point to Commitment to Action: setting goals, exposing ourselves to challenging concepts or experiences, and developing skills as a result.

Again, Psychological Flexibility has been defined as one's ability to focus and act on long-term goals versus short-term urges and their capacity to remain connected to the "present" moment. Dr. Rachel Goldman, PhD, FTOS , a psychologist and clinical assistant professor at the NYU School of Medicine states "What psychological flexibility boils down to is staying in the present moment and being open to experiencing whatever thoughts or feelings may arise, and then take action that is aligned with our values.” As we reflect on the work we have been committed to and the tools we have been using through this work, we can see that our goal was to become more and more psychologically flexible. We have said it before, dive deep into the uncomfortable spaces, hone in on the sore spots that serve as indicators, and feel all the feelings, as this is the way towards a better way of being and a new way of thinking. The idea that these feelings and thoughts are shameful aspects our ourselves is what keeps us from working through and using them to power our growth. But as many of us know, the intention to be and do better can't always overcome the shame when we are faced with reality. As we have worked through in the past, a way to overcome this is through #RadicalSelfAwareness and genuine empathy and accountability towards ourselves. To build upon some of this work, let's work through the following exercise together:

We are going to craft our set of Core Values using the mission of #TheKaleidoscopeEffect and our individual goals and struggles. Like with our previous exercises transparency and honesty are key to developing true goals and thus approaches to achieve those goals. Open up your journal, phone app, and computer, and add this exercise. Title the page/area "My Core Values" and draw a large cross in the center. These 4 quadrants will be specific to certain aspects of ourselves and our mission. For me, these are the four areas I focused on:

• Me
• My Life
• My Environment
• The World

These may be different for you. For example, "My Environment" for me is my surroundings. Those around me and who are part of my circle of trusted advisors (family & friends) as well as my professional life as I consider this the environment I can impact and influence within at this moment. For some, this could be "My Professional Life" or "My Family". Further, I chose my fourth quadrant to be "The World" as I have values I wish for The World and want many of my actions in the other spaces to influence how I can serve my Core Values for The World. But whatever your sections are, make sure you think broadly of the areas of your life you would like to impact. Now that we have the 4 areas selected, we are going to spend some time reflecting on these sections and determining 2 - 4 Core Values for each of these sections. Again, using the #Lens of #TheKaleidoscopeEffect and our personal missions for growth to craft these values. Let's spend a good amount of time reflecting here and ensure we are digging deep into ourselves through our #RadicalSelfAwareness and crafting goals that will aid in our transformations. Write down all that comes to mind and scratch off any values that don't align with your mission for yourself and your growth, and also recognize the biases trying to influence these decisions. Remember, the mind and our hard-wired biases are alive and will do anything to self-preserve, including steering you away from goals and actions that can undo them and the control they have on you.

Come back to us once you have taken all the time you need!

This actually took me a fair bit of time to work through, and I imagine it may have for you as well. This is a good thing as our Core Values should not be decided on the fly. They should have importance and deep-rooted meaning for you and your life as they will continue to be the driving force behind any current and future change. As I mentioned above, I determined 4 areas in my life that I crafted Core Values for and would like to share them with you here:

As you can see, I had quite a bit on my mind as I deciphered the areas in my life where Core Values have and will continue to influence me and my growth. The four areas for me were:

• Myself
• My Life
• My Environment
• The World

These four spaces are the areas that have the most impact on me and my life but also can be the areas where I can have the most impact through the work and continued focus on Widening My Lens. My thought process behind selecting these areas is to determine the areas where I can make an impact through meaningful change and the areas that will have a meaningful impact on me, my well-being, and my growth. I recognized that the Core Values would potentially differ but also that they had the potential to be in lockstep with one another. Let's unpack our Core Values together. As you can see in the image above, I came up with quite a few Core Values; some are the same across the 4 separate areas. I went area by area and worked through the Core Values listed to narrow down my Top 3 per area which are as follows:

Myself:

• Be Vulnerable, Authentic, & Honest
• Serve the Work no Matter the Cost
• Earn Forgiveness

My Life:

• Brighten the Lives of Others
• Sacrifice if Gaining Means Less for Another
• Driven by the Love of My Family

My Environment:

• Surrounded by Individuals Who Challenge My Perspective
• Connected to Others Outside my Comfort Zone
• Uplifting Others to Uplift Myself

The World:

• Be Better to the World than It Has Been to Me
• Universal Freedoms
• Leave the Planet Better for Our Future

Quite a bit to unpack here. What are some of your Core Values that stick out to you? Can you find any common threads across your Core Values? What do you feel is a key driving factor for some of your Core Values?

As we reflect on the questions above and our final selections for our Core Values, we must enforce our commitment to living our lives through these values by challenging our Perspectives and looking at the world and our experiences through the #Lens of these Core Values. Let's work through how this may be applied in our daily lives by evaluating one of our Core Values together. The Core Value I have chosen for this practice is from the "Myself" area and is "Serve the Work no Matter the Cost."

Serve the Work no Matter the Cost

Let's break things down together by using the questions below to begin to decipher Where our selected Core Value applies to our lives and as a result, How we can begin to Adjust Focus of Our Lens using it:

• What does this Value mean to me?

When I consider the work of #TheKaleidoscopeEffect, the Challenging of my Biases & Perspective dictates that I approach every thought, perspective, and experience with this intent. Serving the Work no Matter the Cost means that regardless of whatever reason there may be to Not Serve the Work, that we challenge ourselves at any time and in every experience and relationship. This may come full circle as we move through the rest of the questions.

• How does this show up in my daily life?

Serving the Work no Matter the Cost shows up in virtually every facet of my life. Every thought, response, behavior, reaction, belief, perspective, and so on are all rooted in a lifetime of lived experiences that have created Biases & Prejudices as a result. These experiences do not at all mimic those of another and thus have crafted a Biased Lens which I use to perceive the world around me. Knowing this, Serving the Work no Matter the Cost means I must challenge every singular aspect of myself, my life, my environment, and how I perceive the world around me.

How does this impact those around me?

Serving the Work no Matter the Cost ultimately means I must be willing to live this through this value in every relationship and experience I have. This means not only challenging myself but also those around me and those whom I associate & connect with. The Cost could be lost partnerships or friendships, it could be losing or distancing ourselves from someone or something close to us, or it could be negative energy directed at us as a result of this accountability. Whatever The Cost, our Values must dictate how we connect with the world around us and what we are willing to tolerate in the pursuit of #RadicalSelfAwareness and Accountability.

• What am I willing to sacrifice for this Value?

The phrase Serving the Work no Matter the Cost says it all, No Matter the Cost. As I reflect on how imperative it is to remain diligent every moment of every day to achieve Radical Self-Awareness, we must be willing to sacrifice several things. Some that come to mind are:

My Comfort: if I am not willing to sacrifice my comfort, I can never achieve #RadicalSelfAwareness and worse, I can never truly expect to grow, change, or Widen My Lens. I must intentionally and continuously challenge myself and call out the negative to Adjust Focus and this in itself is highly uncomfortable. Further, I must dive head-first into the discomfort of acknowledging, accepting, and embedding the lived experiences and perspectives of others into my Lens of Perspective.

Relationships & Partnerships: as we consider the work and how we want it to show up in our lives, we cannot reserve accountability for certain individuals. We must be equitable in our expectations of ourselves and others. This may mean having difficult and uncomfortable discussions with those around us, including friends and family. If we are Serving the Work no Matter the Cost, we may find ourselves at an impasse with those around us. We may need to sacrifice relationships with friends or family, professional relationships and partnerships, and future partnerships or opportunities. For some, this may seem like an unfair trade-off, but if our mission is to Live by the Core Values we hope to guide our lives, we cannot allow for anything to derail that, and perhaps we may influence change through our approaches.

Time & Energy: being intentional takes space and time. The challenge itself takes energy and mindshare and the action of challenging also impacts the space and mindshare we have available. The time commitment to Serve the Work may not be measurable as it must be consistent and chronic. Committing time is one of the most challenging aspects of achieving a goal for most if not all of us. Recognizing that taking a few seconds or a few minutes multiple times throughout the day is not a waste of time and praising ourselves for remaining committed is necessary.

What are you willing and ready to Sacrifice?

• How can I embed this value into my Lens?

So much of what was said above speaks to ways I can attempt to embed this value into my Lens but reflecting on this further, Leading Through this Value vs Using this Value to spot-check, is something that comes to mind. What I mean by this is that I must be proactive vs reactive. Further, defining what The Work means is also important to deciphering the actions I must take to Serve The Work. Through this definition, I can begin to craft facets in my Lens of Perspective and can set the intention to Lead Through this Value every moment of every day and in every interaction. It is important to always consider why you chose this Core Value and what impact you hope it will have on your life. These notions will be the guiding forces and North Star in this continued journey.

This exercise is a cornerstone of the idea of, Adjusting Focus, and must be approached with openness and accountability. Adjusting Focus is not about seeing through the point of view or Lens of another, it's about shifting Your Lens, crafting new facets into it, and Widening it as a result. When we consider the magnitude of the impact we aim to have through these Core Values, we can equate the magnitude of the accountability we must have of ourselves and those around us. Let's chat about this for a moment. Let me ask Why are you here? This is not a trick question or anything philosophical, just an honest question, Why are you here? For many of us, we are here to work on something we could not resolve on our own, we are here to make a difference in ourselves and our surroundings, we are here because what we may have tried already hasn't worked, or maybe we are here because we do not even know where to start. You had enough accountability to get you here, let's not allow fear or discomfort with accountability to keep us from moving forward and making meaningful change.

We have gone through quite a bit together in this journey and just in time we have taken in processing this article. I want to pause for a moment and let you know how proud I am of you for pushing through the discomfort and committing to yourself and the Mission. Please be proud of yourself as well.

We discussed Psychological Flexibility earlier and in past articles. We know that our brains have the ability to change both physically and psychologically, known as Neuroplasticity. We are aware of the pitfalls present at every corner to fall back into bias and nuance and thus we know the weight and responsibility of being intentional in holding ourselves and those around us accountable to the Core Values we are using as Tailwinds driving us forward to a New Way of Being and a New Way of Connecting.

If accountability was easy, we all would be more comfortable with it and as a result, would have fewer struggles in relationships and connections in particular. For many of us, this will be the biggest hill to climb in this journey. To help you become more comfortable with the discomfort of accountability, let me share a few ways I have attempted to work through my own resistance to accountability:

• Start with chronic but low-stakes issues: we have talked a bit about this in previous articles related to bias but start in the comfort of your own mind. Make it a goal to hold yourself accountable to something specific every day and then gradually increase it to multiple times a day. An example for me is challenging my biases at the moment. Anytime I think something and am able to catch myself in the biased thought, I attempt to challenge the bias and hold myself accountable. For example, I tend to deploy my bias when observing my surroundings. I have a habit of assuming I know what someone meant by something they said to or around me. I immediately take things personally if I feel it was about me in some way or if it does not align with the Vision I have of myself. I immediately jump into Fight or Flight mode and begin to justify how I am feeling as a result. When I recognize this behavior now, when I can, I attempt to disarm it by asking myself these questions?

Does this reaction align with my Core Values?

What proof do you have that this was or is about you? and if it is, what evidence do you have to prove your feelings?

Why is it making me feel this way?

How do I know the other person intended to hurt me?

Can I be harming them or our relationship by feeling/reacting this way?

What were they trying to communicate to me about how They were feeling?

• Call out the bias at play at the moment: I have found that there is immense fear in labeling the action or behavior in question, especially if it is an unsavory one. I say let's Disable the Label and work to become examples of what #RadicalSelfAwareness looks like and how it can unlock the door to true change. For example, when I find myself assuming a gender associated with a type of car I am looking at, I call myself out for allowing sexist and gender tropes to drive my thinking via biases. Nothing scary, my world did not end, and I am not canceled, if anything I am canceling the bias by being intentional. Over time through this repetition, #RadicalSelfAwareness begins to take root and becomes almost autonomous. Just get ready to annoy some of those around you who aren't ready for that level of accountability but hold them accountable also if you plan for them to be in your space.
• Keep track of recurring themes and successes: whether you track this on paper, digitally, or mentally, keep track of threads that connect some of the behaviors and thoughts you are holding yourself accountable to. This can present the opportunity to address multiple issues at the same time and through the same means, lessening the work you need to take and opening up space for other issues to be addressed. An example for me is, the biases I mentioned about gender association. Outside of just cars and general aspects of life, I have found myself associating gender with the human capacity for empathy. I associate the ability to demonstrate genuine care for others with specific genders and assume that certain genders generally lack humility without any proof. This leads to conflict for me as I assume a lack of capacity or lack of ability to care, understand, and be empathetic based on gender. This leads to so much conflict, both internally and externally.

Whatever means of accountability works best for you is the approach you must take. We all have our own path based on our special set of lived experiences, biases as a result, and the stage we are on in this journey. This is not a comparison or race with others, it is a shared journey that depends on one another to make true change in our world.

That seems like huge feet to take on, how can we hope to change the world through our individual actions? Well, if we reflect on the notion of perspective, in making the adjustments we have attempted thus far, we have already changed Our world. Who's to say that doesn't mean that the world as a whole has changed as a result?

Do you want to know the truth to that question? You. Only you determine how you feel about your progress and the impact it has had on your life and the world around you. If you can recognize the biases that are at play in downplaying your progress and the impact you have had on the surroundings and world around you, you can continue #AdjustingFocus and as a result, Widen Your Lens in the process.

?

#TheKaleidoscopeEffect #WeWidenOurLens #AdjustingFocus #Perspective