#Paradigm October 29
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My father when he was taking a trip in the car beyond a one hour radius of our home in Northern NJ had a paper map. For the record that was not very often.
My dad was his own version of AAA until my sister Bridget went to work for a travel agency and convinced him to join AAA. After that he had AAA print him out TripTik
Our mind has many maps. Those maps can be grouped into two big divisions.
- The way things are-REALITY
- The way things should be-Our VALUES
A good way to label these maps of the mind is to call them a PARADIGM. We often find the definition of PARADIGM including words like theory, assumption, perception or frame of mind.
My dad successfully navigated his road trips because he had the correct map. It would have been a disaster if he had a map of New York while traveling to Pennsylvania. In that scenario his value of looking at a map of NY would not have matched the reality of being in PA.
What happens in life is we become convinced that our PARADIGM is the correct one. That influences our behavior, attitude, speech, and thinking. Sometimes we have to remember that our map may not be accurate and we need to be ready to change them. That ability to change our PARADIGM or map is the secret to growing as a leader. It is not easy. Never forget that the way we view a problem may actually be the problem.
In the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R Covey there is a great story on what it often takes to change your PARADIGM. The story centers on a naval captain’s values when they are up against reality.
The story was published in the magazine of the Naval Institute called Proceedings. The story was told by Frank Koch and I have included it below.
When we interact with others our PARADIGM should include fairness, honesty, integrity, human dignity, and how we might serve them. That map will help us arrive at the best destination.
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