Our world is changing and so are we. The younger you are the more empathic you are which means you are more aware of others' emotions. You are not highly sensitive, you are hypersensitive - more aware, more inciteful, more caring - than previous generations.
Thank you to our young who are showing us the new way, the right way. Our young are more open to new ideas, are more understanding of differences, are more mindful of our future. Our young realise that we have to change along with our new world and not try to control it, to work with it.
Our young do not have to change to be like us, they do not have to do as we say, nor do they have to 'harden up'. It is us who need to change. Those who believe we have the experience and the ideas because we have lived longer need to change, who need to listen, who need to 'open up' rather than harden up.
We are now living in their world.
Imagine a world where the experienced amongst us come together with the ideas of our young, what a world that would be. We do not have to imagine it as it is happening in places right now.
Having worked with local and central government for over 30 years I am seeing the coming together of the experienced with the young. Real change is being made.
Presenting this week in Wanaka to an audience of senior executives from the 45 South branch of Taituarā, I witnessed it for myself. A group of local government professionals of all ages listening, sharing, and caring. Thank you for being so open, so welcoming, so enthusiastic to new ideas.
Those who criticise your work do not know the complexities in which you work. The information you have to decipher, the data you have to process, the many groups you have to satisfy. Yet, you do it so well and you do it with 'people' in mind. For you are also empathic.
Thank you to our young for being empathic, for being more aware, for being more caring. Please keep being so and do not let others try to change you, we need you in our new world.
Please continue to hold us to account, to tell us when we are wrong, to tell us how we can do better. Do listen to what we have to say. Although we might not say it in a way that you would say it, we have lived experiences that you have not and have a lot to offer.
Thank you to our local government for being so open, so aware, and so caring. While you may not satisfy everyone, just like our young are doing, you have a bigger picture in mind. Others.
Our new world is upon us and it is an exciting time for we are at a junction in history. We can choose to do the same thing and head into the unknown, or we can change and head into our new world of certainty. A world that is full of new surprises, of new ideas, of new ways to manage our new world. Together.
Before being critical of others, stop and think. Open your mind which opens your eyes which allows you to see the way forward.
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Unconscious and Confirmation Bias