Your paradigm just might be making you sick.

We all operate in the world with a paradigm, which is a system of beliefs, values, and habits of thinking about the real world. In general, most of us unconsciously internalize the dominant paradigm of the culture in which we grow up and live. Our paradigm subsequently influences everything we do; our perceptions, thoughts, and action filter through our paradigm. People exposed to different world views, religions, and ways of knowing often challenge or expand their paradigm based upon those experiences. Such travel and exposure is not possible for a great many people. Unless they have a significant emotional experience that challenges their paradigm, they will forever by governed unknowingly by their paradigm. And it just might be making them sick.

The dominant paradigm in the world today

Though there are many paradigms active in the world around us, the dominant worldview driving our global economic, cultural, and environmental crises is Western. The Western paradigm positions humans as superior and dominant over nature; natural resources are there for the benefit of man (specifically). This traditionally masculine and narrow paradigm includes a faulty understanding about Darwin’s premise of survival of the fittest, inspiring competition over cooperation. Furthermore, it grounds itself in objectivism; the idea that we can know truth outside of our subject view, and that objects and ideas are fixed. It is a mechanistic view of the world, with clearly defined separation between objects, nature, and people. Feminine energy and wisdom diminished; masculine energy is seen as the highest order of being and thought.

This worldview has resulted in inequality, discrimination, exclusivity, scarcity mentality, environmental degradation, human trafficking, war, and the oppression of women and feminine energy and wisdom. We are experiencing the extreme consequences of this paradigm: cultural and environmental decline and portending collapse. Much of this is driven by the ego- and ethnocentric consciousness of such a worldview. Ego-consciousness arises because “I see myself as separate,” and only the fittest survive. The primary emotion is fear, which drives decision making based upon self-protection and competition for resources, status, and power. Ethnocentric consciousness emerges within this paradigm as people band together out of fear to protect their group and to make it easier to compete for resources. Decisions are nonetheless made through the lens of fear, scarcity, and competition.

How is this paradigm resonating for you these days?

For a growing number of people who’ve been raised within the Western paradigm, the current politico-socio-economic-environmental condition is the significant emotional experience causing them to challenge this worldview. They are asking important questions, such as Why shouldn’t we be here for the benefit of nature; why isn’t it reciprocal? Why shouldn’t everyone have the basics for living a decent life? Why should more than half the population be excluded from power and leadership?

An invitation to adopt a living systems paradigm

A living systems paradigm is one in which all living beings—including humans—are integral, interrelated parts of one whole living system. For living systems, the primary purpose is flourishing. Each person is a living system connected to larger systems, which means one of our primary purposes is to thrive. In addition, we each have our own unique gift(s) that can support flourishing for the whole. To achieve the full potential of each person’s gift, we must prioritize individual flourishing. The system is mutually interdependent: the whole supports flourishing of the parts and the parts support flourishing of the whole.

For example, an acorn’s purpose is to flourish as Oak and in doing so, it helps the earth, other plants, and animals in the system flourish. Just like Oak, each of us is a living system, with the potential to help the system flourish in our unique way, and we can only do that if we flourish. As human beings, we influence the world around us in so many powerful ways. Our thoughts, our conversations, our actions are all co-creative. Understanding this empowers all of us to support the health and wellbeing of ourselves, one another, and the living world. Fully adopting this paradigm moves us out of our fear-based paradigm and into one of abundance and possibility.

Wholeness means accessing and balancing masculine energy (intellect and doing) with our feminine energy (heart and intuition). The result honors both men and women’s leadership and wisdom. It means accepting responsibility for our every action and word because they are consequential. Through the living systems lens, everything that is alive has a purpose and a gift that can contribute to the flourishing and resilience of the whole. As a consequence, diversity, inclusion, and equity is cultivated and celebrated. It becomes essential to uplift every person and to support them in bringing their unique gifts to the world.

What might it mean for you to shift your paradigm?

Pause for moment and reflect on the emotional and psychological ramifications of holding a Western worldview: you are isolated and alone, at risk of dying unless you find a way to belong to a group. Fear is your base driver for all your actions. If you are a white male, you live in fear of losing what power you have. If you are non-white and/or female you live in fear of being used, abused, and otherwise mistreated or misunderstood by others. No matter who you are, you compete for status, position, and limited resources.

Now, take a deep breath and get curious about what might be different if you hold a living systems paradigm: you belong because you are alive, your unique gift(s) are valued and wanted by others. Love is your base driver for all your actions. Regardless of your gender or gender identity, race, religion, or any other attribute, you are included, embraced, and sought out for your unique gifts. Others help you flourish, and you help others flourish. No matter who you are, you collaborate to innovate and expand abundance for the health of the whole system.

The Western paradigm is slowly being challenged

As research allows us to learn more about human functioning and potential, the Western worldview is becoming problematic. Carol Dweck’s research challenges the Western perspective of a fixed mindset. She proposes the notion of growth mindset, demonstrating our potential to evolve intellectual, emotional, and physical capacity over time, given encouragement and connection (considered feminine traits). This is a more accurate way of understanding human potential.[i]  Barbara Fredrickson shows that positive emotions literally broaden and build our emotional and intellectual capacity.[ii] Attention to psychological safety and emotional intelligence, considered feminine strengths, are now essential training for leadership development. Raj Sisodia, David B. Wolfe, and Jag Sheth provide substantial evidence that businesses that “do good” for all their stakeholders in all areas that matter—emotional, experiential, social, and financial—thrive.[iii] This idea of recognizing relationships as important and caring for people and their wellbeing has been considered feminine and a waste of resources. However, those organizations recognizing a more balanced and whole human approach to organizing is actually better for the organization’s bottom line.

Added to that, the volatile, complex, and rapidly change world has shown the fallibility of hierarchical organizational structures. Positive organization scholarship now challenges traditional bottom-line thinking. Paul Polman and Andrew Winston encourage and show the promise for organizations to rethink their business model for net positive results, which means giving more than they are taking.[i] David Cooperrider and Lindsey Graham encourage consultants to support net positive organizational development to bring about human and organizational flourishing.[ii] The movements for conscious capitalism, Business as an Agent of World Benefit, business with purpose, and benefit corporations all recognize organizations that value a triple bottom line—people, planet, profit—are needed for a sustainable world. Frederic LaLoux’s research challenges the need for hierarchical control and human management for corporations to flourish.[iii] He highlights organizations who are empowering people at the most local level to learn, grow, and make good decisions for the company. Carol Sanford’s work around regenerative business demonstrates the power of a living systems framework to support an organization’s ability to thrive while adapting to a continuously changing world.[iv] Add to this the research in neurophysiology, human and animal psychology, and the complex communication systems of the natural world and we begin to see the emergence of a different cultural paradigm. One that embraces the metaphor of wholeness and life, with a propensity for continuous growth and evolution.

It's your paradigm, it’s your choice

The constrained living that comes from a Western paradigm, can literally make us physically, emotionally and spirituality sick. Our actions and decisions driven by the cultural requirement to fit into narrowly defined molds minimizes, oppresses, and denies who we are, our gifts, and our natural essence. Imagine if you restrict that Oak tree by placing a confining container around it when it’s young, only allowing sun on one portion of the tree, providing scarce water, and perhaps covering a section of the roots with cement. Of course, it will adapt, but will it flourish? Will it grow to its full potential to support the larger system in the way it might have? The same is happening to varying degrees to each of us, our loved ones, co-workers, organizations, and society. Like the tree, we adapt to constrained living, but we don’t flourish and eventually we begin to die emotionally, physically, and spiritually. Would we have the same level of mental and emotional health issues (think drug abuse, homelessness, mass shootings) and physical illness (cancer, heart disease) in a world governed by a living systems paradigm?

Embracing a living system paradigm invites us to bring our whole selves into being, choosing that which supports aliveness so that we might share our unique gift(s) with the world. What would it take for us to collectively begin to adopt such a worldview? What might you let go of and what might you begin doing to support your own flourishing?How might you create space and inspire others to do the same?

To learn more about living and working from a living systems framework, conscious leadership, and leading from the heart, visit www.thesamiproject.org.

[i] Paul Polman and Andrew Winston, The Net Positive Manifesto, HBR: Sept-Oct 2021. Available February 13, 2022 at https://hbr.org/2021/09/the-net-positive-manifesto.

[ii] David Cooperrider and Lindsey Graham, 2022. “Our Earthshot Moment.” ODR, Vol 54, No. 1, 2022, pgs 29-50.

[iii] Frederik LaLoux, Reinventing Organizations. Nelson Parker, 2014.

[iv] Carol Sanford, The Regenerative Business. Boston: Nicholas Brealey  Publishing, 2022.

[i] Carol Dweck, Mindset. Random House, 2006.

[ii] Barbara Fredrickson, “Positive Emotions Broaden & Build.” Advances In Experimental Psychology, 2013.

[iii] Raj Sisodia, David B. Wolfe, Jagdeth Sheth, Firms of Endearment. Pearson FT Press, 2014