People are not broken, they work perfectly well!

Emerging Insights, 5 August 2021

“People are not broken; they work perfectly well!” I had heard this principle many times before in my journey studying, exploring, and teaching others working with the body-mind-emotion system to create change.

"Everyone is doing the best they can, given the thinking they have that looks real to them." Sydney Banks

The underlying assumption behind this principle was that people work perfectly well in line with their thinking about ‘their’ world out there. And when people ‘appear’ as being broken or feeling inadequate, helpless, or emotional, it is not so much that they need fixing. But that the quality of their thinking, their frames of reference that they hold about their world, might need some attention.

Now, this made sense to me at a conceptual level. However, when I worked with and coached some people who struggled or resisted to change, as they were stuck in the ‘truth of their reality’, I got seduced into ‘their’ stuckness and helplessness. As I perceived them as being stuck and helpless, I found myself feeling that it was my responsibility to fix them. I often got stuck myself while awkwardly struggling to get through their wall of ‘perceived’ resistance!

One day, this all changed. This time, I heard what was being said just a little deeper than usual. I had a profound insight, about the nature behind that people are not broken. No longer was this just a conceptual understanding, a good idea. At this moment I saw the true nature of where these words were pointing.

I no longer felt stuck and awkward in these situations. I no longer felt responsible to fix my clients ‘perceived’ stuckness or helplessness.

“People have all the resources they need. They just need find the key to access them!” NLP Presupposition

More profoundly, no longer did I see the people I was working with, nor anyone else, as being stuck or helpless. Instead, I saw them as fully functional human beings and souls who by nature are very capable. Full of potential and insightfulness that is lurking behind clouded, noisy, or misguided thinking that is getting in the way from living an enriched and successful life.

All that needed to be done was to create the space where they could see beyond what clouded their mind and allow that potential and insightfulness to come to the fore.

So, what is this space where people can see beyond their clouded thinking and how do we create it? Great question!

The space I am talking about is the space and energy in which our busy minds slow down and quieten down. It is the space that shifts and expands our level of awareness. It is the space in which we have a deeper sense of purpose, humility, compassion, and kindness. It is the space in which we access and draw from deeper wisdom and resourcefulness. It is the space from which solutions or new realisations about our problems and challenges emerge. Solutions and realisations that are aligned with our higher intentions and purpose.

A simple way to create this space is to ‘show up’ and ‘do nothing’. By that I mean, don’t do anything about the thoughts that occupy and flavour your mind. Just be with your thinking. Be present to it and allow it to come and go. Allow it to settle and go quiet.

Show up in silence and be guided by the wisdom that shines through!

And as leaders and facilitators of change, when we show up with nothing on our minds, fully present and grounded, we cannot but connect and create the energy in which the busy minds of others can also settle.

The more we can see that none of us is broken, inadequate, or lacking but are fully functional human souls that simply live in the experience of their thought-created reality.?The more we’ll see each other’s humanity and genius appear from behind preconceived thinking. The more many of our human-made problems will disappear.

With that in mind, always explore for yourself what’s being shared with you. Put it to the test!

To further explore the nature of this principle and its impact or simply to reach out to start a conversation contact Mike at [email protected] or visit www.mikeschwarzer.com.

Learn heaps and keep shining your light on the world! ??

To your best

Mike

About Mike Schwarzer

Mike is a Transformation Facilitator and Learning Leader who is passionate about helping leaders and organisations to solve the problems that they have not been able to solve elsewhere.

He works with the underlying mental, behavioural and deeper innate dynamics that drive people’s and organisations’ thinking and actions. He creates and holds the space where they learn how to tap into their inner and outer capabilities in transformational ways and lift their perceptual abilities to see their world, its problems, and emerging solutions with fresh eyes.

At the organisational level, Mike’s approach challenges the status quo and hierarchical thinking. He takes you into the world of living ‘open & adaptive’ systems and their self-organising nature. From there you will be able to create a workplace culture that naturally draws from the collective wisdom of all its people and that is highly adaptable to the changing winds of a complex world.

For more information about Mike visit?www.mikeschwarzer.com.