You aren’t the same person you were five or ten years ago. Neither am I. We grow and (hopefully) learn from our experiences in life. We also will experience changes around ourselves, good and bad, which force us to change how we live. Sometimes, a chance conversation or small experience can trigger us to see things in a whole new light. And sometimes this will cause us to alter how we do things or interact with others.
A Paradigm Shift is more than simply making changes in your life. It also includes changes in mindset and approach which fundamentally alter your behaviour, and which challenge the view of the world you previously held. So changing the route you take to work because of a construction detour is not a paradigm shift, but noticing a fully segregated bike lane running along the detour route and deciding to try commuting to work by bike instead of car could be the beginning of a paradigm shift which affects many aspects of your life, health, and happiness.
There are lots of ways in which we have all had to shift our mentality about life. Think about when you were a child. When did you first realize that you were going to grow up? Did that fill you with dread or anticipation? Did you resist the responsibilities of adulthood until you were in your twenties, or did you start trying on your mom’s makeup and using her credit card when you were 13? A child’s point of view on the world is dramatically different than an adult’s, but the shift to adulthood is accompanied by a lot of education and a change in environment (including new responsibilities!). Each individual will approach it in their own way, at their own pace. The same is true for paradigm shifts you encounter in your own life.
What other natural paradigm shifts do we undergo? There is the change from student to worker to retiree, from singleton to couple, and from child to parent then to grandparent (!). Think about how the role for each is different, and why there is necessarily a change in mindset and environment at each stage.
Is it any wonder then, that people sometimes struggle with large changes that rock their entire world? As I said above, children are generally prepared through education and parental/community support to become adults. However, the support for other life changes are often ones you must seek out for yourself. This is partly because of the way our Western society is structured. Individuality is paramount, community is limited, and we have insulated ourselves from others through social media and the COVID-19 pandemic. So when we, for example, become parents, we are likely to learn most of our skills from youtube and websites, rather than from a community of friends and family near at hand. And those with limited skills at combing through the limitless information available to find the gold nuggets in the abundant piles of trash may struggle to make those transitions cleanly and well.
But you! You are a smart cookie! You have navigated trickier waters than these. You have already made some (or all!) of these natural paradigm shifts with skills and grace. You have challenged yourself with all these garden-variety changes. Are you ready for something more?
Happy reading,
Rachel
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