Navigating The Turning Points

Turning Points. How we define a turning point? Do we know when a turning point is happening or is it something that we sleep through? Are we aware of the turning point or do the turning points make us more aware? 

By definition, a turning point is a time when a situation starts to change in an important way: 

When I looked up this definition the example they used for a turning point was having a baby. Last time I checked having a baby felt more like a wrecking ball. That said, it is a great segway to my next point and that is through pain a greater purpose is born. 

Over the last 15 years, I have had hundreds of conversations with some of the brightest people on the planet about how they discovered their purpose, and it doesn't seem to matter how smart, spiritually evolved or sophisticated somebody is... that big hoochie mama in the sky has bitch-slapped most of them. She has come down hard with a turning point OR a tipping point. A moment of no return. And she has some seriously pissed off messengers.

Greta Thunberg (16 year old global activist for climate change).

Seriously though - In a recent report by the United Nations on Climate Change released in September it was discovered that Global warming is so far advanced, a tipping point has already been reached, according to the UN some severe consequences will be impossible to avoid.

As terrifying as this is...it also leaves me curious. Curious as to why some people wait for a crisis to make a choice, whereas others choose purpose. Why is it that for some they wait for these turning, tipping and terrifying points to become more aware, more conscious and more purpose-driven human beings. 

I've thought long and hard about this. Especially in an age where digitisation has empowered us all with the voice and influence to drive a meaningful conversation more so than ever before. Conversations that start with one sign held by the Greta Thunberg's of the world, or with one speech like Emma Gonzales 'March for Lives' speech against gun control. Like the Me Too Movement. 

So it makes me wonder... If we have the power to use our voices, and to influence change, then why is it that some of us wait for tipping points, and what is it that we are waiting for? Are we waiting for someone to save our souls? OR Are we waiting for someone to save the world. Or is it that we are afraid? Afraid of our own power. 

Marianne Williamson summed this up beautifully when she said, "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us".

If you were famous, a king, a queen, a prince or a princess and you had the power...then how would you change the world, and if you are not already doing that thing...then why not? 

While on the subject of Royals… I want to play a little bit of a memory game with you all. Who remembers exactly where you were when Princess Diana died? (That means we are all another tipping point....known as the proverbial mid-life crisis!). Who remembers precisely where you were on the 11th of September 2001 when the twin towers fell? 

We all remember these significant events, and they were tragic events which is why they are seared into our brains. That said these events were insignificant in comparison to a collective event that in my mind I have coined the second big bang. A big bang that literally gave birth to a second life....looking something like this. 

Now some of you would remember this image and the sound however, for many of us mere mortals the significance of this event is only being realised almost 30 years on. And while we slept some of the greatest opportunities for humankind formed, however, some of the most significant vulnerabilities were also being exposed. Vulnerabilities such as disconnection from each other, the onslaught of junk information, bad news designed to hack our attention, or even worse a disdain for tragic human events filling our news feeds every day leading to disdain for humanity itself.

I can’t help but wonder if we could live through this turning point again would we choose to do it differently? Something to consider given the next big bang is already here. 

The third big bang. Artificial Intelligence. Computer programming that is capable of speed, capacity and processing beyond any human being. Again a disruptive wave that brings with it the greatest opportunities for all of humankind. The possibilities are limitless but we are also in a time where humankind must be acutely conscious and aware.

Why? Like the human brain, artificial intelligence is subject to cognitive bias which are mental shortcuts that skew decision-making and reasoning, resulting in errors. Examples of cognitive biases include stereotyping, the bandwagon effect or confirmation bias to name a few.  

The great Physicist Stephen Hawking who passed away in March last year summed it up when he said this: "Success in creating effective AI, could be the biggest event in the history of our civilisation. Or the worst." 

Ironically while AI is learning from humans, there is a huge opportunity for Humans to learn more about human nature in the reflection of AI. In the mirror of AI we can clearly view the shadow self. In Jungian psychology, the shadow self refers to the unconscious aspects of our personality which the conscious self does not identify in itself. In short, the shadow is the unknown side. 

According to Jung these hidden parts of ourselves are prone to psychological projection, and often one discovers his or her dark side as something belonging to others: friends, relatives - In a reflection. A reflection that AI is now amplifying. 

So what does waking up in this turning point look like for human kind?

Jung put is so gracefully when he said: “One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious”. 

It does not matter whether we are navigating a personal turning point, a professional one or a planetary one. It through self awareness and a decision to create change before a crises hits that we will collectively enable hope, healing and eventually the creation of culture that supports our personal well being. The well being of the community and the survival of our planet.

Season Two of Decoding Purpose hosted by Rebecca Tapp is now available on Itunes Podcasts and Spotify. Subscribe below.