Stories for a brighter future

For many of us wanting to create a bright future now for the planet, despair is probably the biggest single obstacle. Much of this despair comes from our self-talk and the stories we tell ourselves. 

I agree with my friend and colleague, Bill Veltrop when he says that it's really difficult to change a system, because, every time you try to change it, it will push back. However if you can change the stories that people tell, the systems will change automatically.

Many of the stories we tell ourselves suck out our energy. They keep us small. They keep us weak. For example, we tell ourselves, "The world's a mess! But what can I do?" Imagine what would happen if we said: "We can make a difference because we are far more powerful and connected than any of us realise. Our real strength comes from our heart and soul.” In my book I talk about how we all have a core of greatness that for most of us is so over-shadowed by our lack of presence, our separation and ego that we forget about it. And fortunately the one thing we can definitely change is ourselves. We need to work on our greatness, not our weaknesses.

We tell ourselves: “Global change is a collective problem requiring collective solutions; no individual, country or region can succeed on its own.” A better story would be: “We are all part of the collective. Throughout history courageous individuals have made tipping-point changes.” This reminds me of another story: “A wise person counted the snowflakes that fell on a tree branch. At a certain point with just one extra flake the branch broke. Perhaps you are the extra flake needed to change the world!”

In a small country like New Zealand some people say: "We're too small. We're too isolated. We're too far away. What can we do?" Other people tell a different story: “Because we are so isolated we have developed an unusually wide-perspective of the world. NZ could be the petri-dish of the world. NZ is exactly the manageable-sized case-study the world is looking for. NZ is small enough to try things and make rapid change. NZ already punches above its weight. NZ has shown the way in the past with votes for women and indigenous rights. NZ has a female Prime Minister, Chief Justice and Governor General. NZ is in a unique position to lead the world towards a brighter future.” 

For those of us working with business some say: “Business is a short-sighted money-making machine that has been one of the major causes of excessive materialism and unsustainable growth.” Imagine if we said: “Business may have been a problem in the past; but, business is probably one of the few agents powerful enough to make a real difference.” Imagine if we said: “There are so many great examples. The new business models have already been proven. They are not only good for the planet, they are also good for business.”

We despair about the rich world’s current beyond-capacity use of the planets resources; and projections that if the rich world continues to grow at 3%pa in just 70 years we will use 8 times as many resources; and if the poor world catches up we will use 80 times more. Who could seriously think that our planet could withstand an 80-fold increase when we are already utilising about 1.6 times the planets carrying capacity? Stories that perpetuate exponential growth in a finite world are at war with mathematics, physics and biology. Yet this is our current story! We say: ‘The problem is unemployment; only growth can create more jobs’. We say: ‘We can’t afford to protect the environment; the solution is more growth’. What if we told a different story: ‘Unemployment and the environmental damage are caused by economic growth’? We forget that GDP and materialism are poorly related to happiness. We need stories that shout ‘better’ not ‘more’! Imagine if we said: “Happiness has far more to do with intellectual growth, emotional growth and spiritual growth; and these are infinite.”

Even those who think a better future is possible, most tell themselves: “It’s too late!” We forget we don’t live in a clock-work universe that just keeps ticking; we live in a living universe subject to chaos and self-organisation where metamorphic change can occur at the movement of a butterfly’s wing. Imagine if we said: “History is full of examples where we’ve been amazed by the sudden downfall in institutions (USSR etc); by the transition in thinking (#Metoo, ozone chemicals etc); all rebellions against what seemed like powerful invincible opposition.”

Many people don’t understand the power of their stories. The stories we have about ourselves get directly into our subconscious mind and drive our behaviour. So the stories you tell are what you will get. The trouble is our stories are often about things we don’t want to happen to us and we become confused when these things end up in our lives. So next time you find yourself telling a negative story like: “I’m useless at remembering names” expect to forget the next person; or “I’m always unhappy”, expect to be unhappy.

Perhaps we have been focused on the wrong things. Perhaps we have been hitting our head against the proverbial brick wall trying to change the commercial system, the education system, the political system, the news and media system and the measurement system. Perhaps what we should have been focussed more on is changing the stories we tell ourselves. This sounds simple. Don’t be fooled we have to work hard to achieve it because there is some devil in us that is attracted to negative stories. Don’t believe me? Just see what sells newspapers!

I’d love to know what stories you think we need to change.

Bruce Holland is the author of the book: Cracking Great Leaders Liberate Human Energy at Work and the supporting Program designed for other consultants who don’t have the skills or time to develop their own intellectual property to help their clients develop organisational genius and strengthen their human energy fields.

Bruce is also a mentor at GoConsult.nz. The early years of consulting can be a jungle with many risks before the rewards. GoConsult.nz mentors help maximise the rewards of consulting and minimise the risks of transition.