The forces designed to separate you from others are constant and strong. A system of algorithms consistently feed each of us information to further entrench us in ways of thinking. Our chosen community regularly reminds us: Keep thinking like we do and you will be accepted.
Fed to us like an IV drip in our arm, we know the beliefs that surge through our consciousness are incomplete at best and often wrong. Ironically and logically, we also understand that “those” people also have beliefs built by their own set of algorithms and community.
Despite knowing that the addiction to beliefs one has is driven by the algorithm or community we belong to, the brain is unrelenting: We fool ourselves into believing we are right and “they” are wrong. “Look at the evidence!” we shout, never minding the fact that the only evidence we can recognize are those data points our beliefs allow us to see.
When unaware of the trick our mind is playing on us, we stand behind the walls of our constructed reality. Occasionally we even demonize or attack “those people” who are standing behind their walls.
Should we consider straying from our selected algorithms or community, our brain sends a strong message of peril. To be alone is to die.
We are being gamed. More accurately, we are gaming ourselves and nearing a moment in time historians will earnestly study and write about. Collectively we are in urgent need of conscious collaborative leadership.
To be conscious is to be aware, an observer or our focus and subsequent emotions. With this awareness we can choose to be true to who we are.
We are not an algorithm. We can be autonomous within a community. We can think for ourselves.
To be certain, conscious collaborative leaders do not forfeit their beliefs or stray from their values. This is precisely why they refuse to allow an algorithm or community to think for them. They can see what we are doing to ourselves – if we remain unconscious.
Conscious collaborative leaders know the solutions to our problems will not come easy. They also know that a path forward will never be found by dividing us.
Beyond the algorithms and communities that pit us against one another is a field. Let’s meet there as collaborative leaders.
For most of us, the stakes have never been higher in our lifetime. Be aware. Lead collaboratively.
