Systems thinking involves looking at the bigger picture rather than individual parts of a situation, dynamic or problem.

TAKEAWAYS:

• Being curious is much more constructive than insisting on being right. Even if we are verifiably right about a particular fact, we can still be curious about our own reactions and other people’s needs, fears, and beliefs. 

• Our bodies can give us clues about when we’re feeling “right” and the ego is involved. When we pay attention, we can catch ourselves, pause, and shift into curiosity. We can wonder what old stories we carry that make the ego so attached to this rightness; we can wonder what it’s like for the other person or people; and we can wonder what might happen if we did something different, something new and creative, to open up possibilities for healing.

• This work can be quite uncomfortable, but that’s a sign of growth! And we need to be kind to ourselves when it’s hard.

IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE:

The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership, Conscious Leadership Group, https://conscious.is. Especially Commitment #2, “I commit to curiosity as a path to rapid learning.”

Brene Brown, “The ABK Edit” (Awkward, Brave, and Kind, https://brenebrown.com/articles. These interviews highlight people who are addressing injustice in the world in creative, brave, vulnerable ways. 

“A New Earth: Awakening to Your Life’s Purpose,” by Eckhart Tolle. See especially chapter 3, The Core of Ego, on “Being Right, Making Wrong.”

Through Riggs Integral Coaching, Susan Riggs works with individuals and teams to help them live and work with depth, purpose, and joy. She is a certified Integral Coach® through New Ventures West, an associate certified coach through the International Coaching Federation, and a certified Myers-Briggs® trainer. She has many years of experience working with community health centers and other nonprofit organizations.

Through Serenity and Health, Donna Chacko shares information, inspiration, and perspective in her monthly blog to help others enhance their physical and mental health and grow closer to God. She practiced medicine for 40 years, first as a radiation oncologist and later, as a family medicine doctor. What she learned from caring for cancer patients, and later immigrants and the homeless in Washington, D.C., continues to influence her message. She is the author of “Pilgrimage: A Doctor’s Healing Journey.”