Speak freely, please.

There is currently much talk about the right to and the defense of freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is of course important and should be nurtured, encouraged and supported for all. But, before defending the rights to free speech, should we first investigate whether our words are actually free at all?

We are all influenced by our environments in numerous ways. Pushed by culture and nudged through our learning and experiences. The desires of parents are trained and carried through children while advertising and media suggest and develop everything from body issues to racism, radicalisation to oppression. Some are blatant forces that do little to hide, whereas others are subtle, carefully concealed and fly under the conscious radar, guiding our thoughts and actions without us ever having the chance to catch them for review.

These ideas and movements direct us towards forming groups that think like us, act like us and thereby make us feel safe within their ranks. Forming groups from a physical survival standpoint works wonders. However, when membership of the group demands same or similar thinking and action, it often stifles creativity, self-development and depth of the individual. Calls to ‘be yourself’ and ‘think differently’ are negated by punishment when ‘yourself’ or ‘your ideas’ are not close enough to the group average. Due to this, a lack of diversity in thinking quickly develops and ideas that do not challenge the status quo gather the bulk of the support.

Freedom of speech is the right to speak without censorship or restraint by the government although each government does put restraints on this with laws that cover such things as inciting violence or promoting illegal drug usage. But, even if the government allows free speech, does that automatically mean that our speech is free? If membership in a group is dependent on the group accepting the speech, and membership of the group is seen as an important part of personal survival, then self-censorship takes place due to the pressure of potential lost membership or negative social consequences such as job loss, community ridicule or even violence.

This means then that although we may be free by right to speak as we please, we are limited in numerous ways such as group pressure, fear of loss or criticism as well as the emotions that are created alongside such as anger, disappointment and guilt. This would then mean that our speech is not truly free at all and actually directed by the position of the groups with which we identify or are against. And these groups and ideals with which we identify are not even consciously chosen by us in the first place so, how much freedom do we actually have in the words that we speak?

Some people may use this as justification to distance themselves from the responsibility of their words but this does nothing for freedom of speech itself. To speak freely requires no fear and to be fearless requires unattachment from all else. No group, no preference, no culture, no nationality, no religion, no ego. No attachment of any kind.

Everyone can have the right to free speech but how many can actually speak freely.

cool. calm. collected.

With the release of the new Bond film, Spectre, I thought a quick look at an idea for personal development that takes its cue from James himself would be in order. Although a highly trained, intelligent lone-wolf in the field, Bond is a free thinking, socially adept character that can transition from an explosive environment into a tuxedo at a cocktail party smoothly. Intense when the situation demands, witty when an opportunity presents itself, Bond is aware of the operating environment and acts accordingly. To achieve this, there must be a balanced mix of technical, intellectual, social and emotional development as well as deep situational awareness in order to recognise and play the appropriate move at the right time.

In the work arena, most investment is placed on the technical and intellectual requirements. Development of the social and emotional core can round-out skill sets and play a pivotal role in creating, maintaining, shifting and strengthening professional positions, relationships and results. Is there a benefit of being a little Bond-like in the office? Can you become: Cool, calm, collected?

Be Cool:

This is about design. For this case in particular, the design of movements both physical and mental. The world may not be enough, but wastage is too much. Great design takes complexity and simplifies it for application. When applied to personal processes, this path creates a combination of efficiency and effectiveness to move seamlessly from situation to situation. It isn’t laziness, quite the opposite. It takes hard work and deep skill to make something easy. When resources are tight and investment requirements high, savings in redundant movement can be allocated to more pressing needs. Being cool means that with minimal, purposeful action, objectives are achieved and the next challenge is free to approach. To do this, one needs to be more than a professional, they need to be an expert. Someone who continually develops skill sets to match ever-changing environmental needs.

Bond, the epitome of cool. Watch him move. Fluid, precise action, decisive thinking, energy expenditure as necessary.

Personal Skills to address:
Process Improvement, Innovation, Body Language, Problem Solving, Performance Management, Self Leadership, Troubleshooting

Stay Calm:

The sky may be falling, but the heartbeat is unfaltering. Stoic behaviour is often mistaken for insensitivity but this is far from the reality. This is a prioritisation of resources to deal with tasks at hand efficiently. A panicked mind cannot focus clearly, evaluates poorly and acts erratically; thereby creating the home of habit and fear, the true state of insensitivity. Remaining calm allows for conditions to be accurately read, tools utilised and skills applied to effectively deal with the given circumstances. To remain calm, personal understanding needs to be developed which is done through self-awareness. Know yourself, know the rival.

Bond, calm in the eye of chaos yet always present, always ready to act.

Personal Skills to address:
Emotional Management, Stress Management, Self Confidence, Resilience, Dispute Resolution,Taking Criticism, Situational Awareness, Self Awareness

Get Collected:

Skill sets trained, tested and catalogued. Thoughts processed, investigated and prioritised. To be collected, the inventory needs to be known, and the unknown has to to be factored. This means the toolbox is maintained and each piece is understood from both the theoretical and physical perspectives. The cards held by another player may be hidden and the unexpected is likely to happen, but with the ace of adaptability, on the fly modifications can handle the situation.

Bond, acts with trained instinct when possible, tailors sharply and immediately when required.

Personal Skills to address:
Adaptability, Organisation, Planning, Conflict Resolution, Strategic Planning, Self Assessment, Critical Thinking,

Enjoy the Journey

Cool, calm and collected is not isolated to the fictitious world of Hollywood espionage. It can be a continual process of awareness of the self, the operating environment and influencers within. Sensitivity to the large and small picture simultaneously can be developed as well as the prioritisation of requirements and the expansion of skills. It is purposeful action led by an ever-moving mind being driven by a meaning-filled core.

There is always risk, uncertainty, surprise and failure. Clear vision, effective evaluation and timely decisions are the key to survival. Understanding and making moves towards these is the key to enjoyment.

Are we intelligent?

“Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” – Stephen Hawking.

This theory has strong scientific evidence that can be seen in the processes of natural evolution, the development of innovations, market supply and demand and – the formation, growth and death of culture. And, because of the all pervading nature of the concept, intelligence is not limited to the simple human definition but rather presented as an all-encompassing, universal law that applies to all – whether it is understood or not.

Adaptation is a movement as is change, yet the type of movement differs. Whereas change is any movement, adaptation is a reactive movement aimed at achieving continuance through altering form and in so doing, becoming better suited to the operating environment.

When it comes to human adaptation it seems that we are both gifted and plagued by our mental ability. The gifts come in our capacity to compute, predict and create with the plagues being our tendency to complicate, assume and form attachment to what we know and possess. We are simultaneously both extraordinarily brilliant and tragically unaware.

Making a mark, becoming a Statistic

When we are faced by a challenge, we are accomplished solution finders, but it is at this point that we often get attached to what we have created. Each solution has an effect on the environment and therefore changes the conditions. These changes may be minor but are compounded against other uncountable and unforeseen aspects and acts within the surroundings. These environmental movements are effectively new information that was unavailable when a solution was found. In time, the solution that worked so well, becomes obsolete or possibly even harmful to us, others or the environment. If we fail to recognise the changing elements, fail to evaluate the effectiveness of our current solution in combination with the new information or fail to let go of what was once useful for something that is better suited, we expose ourselves to becoming a statistic used to prove the law itself.

There are already many numbers among the ranks of statistics that prove the rule. Dinosaurs and viruses, civilisations, inventions and professions have all fallen prey to the law of adaptation. Some couldn’t adapt fast enough, some moved in the wrong direction and some chose to attempt what no other has so far managed – remain the same.

It is Us

There has never been a point in the evolution of humans where we have had this level of population, connection and technology to influence our world. The movements we make are too many to count, interactions too complicated to predict and consequent reactions can go unseen for long periods, if seen at all. We would be foolish to think that our movements and solutions are not having micro and macro effects on where we live, how we live and why we live. We would be doubly foolish if we thought that we knew and understood all components and could see all repercussions, side-effects and future impacts. And triply foolish if we believed that we can control it all.

The answers we have found in the past have helped create the world in which we live today but they are solutions designed to resolve different questions. They need to be reexamined, tested, stressed and developed for the environments of now or removed entirely if they are useless or harmful. We cannot become attached to what we have built for nothing remains unchanged. Some questions raised may target seemingly fundamental aspects of who we are, but who we truly are is liquid and adaptive to the environment in which we fill. We only ever appear solid when frozen by the self-made rules we use to define us.

Questions, raise Questions

When you think you have found the best solution, know that it is based on the information and skills you have available today. Before comparing your life, your rules and your beliefs to that of another understand the randomness, chance and uncontrolled processes that led you to your own. And before you judge another on their position, know that like the rest of us, they are doing the best that they know how given the information and resources they have available.

The challenges we have faced, currently face and inevitably will face are only questions that beg for solution. Open information, clear communication and deep cooperation is the best way to most efficiently and effectively answer the questions in front of us. And as we find solutions together, the next array of questions will form and be faced: together.

“We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them.” – Albert Einstein