Let’s do a thought experiment. Imagine a white board that is divided into two columns. The heading of the left column is titled cataclysm and lists potential world-wide catastrophes like global warming, species eradication, health care crisis, meteor impact, peak oil, Ebola etc. Usually when I do this exercise with a group they quickly list twelve or more natural and human caused disasters. Now, in the right hand column of this imaginary white board we are going to create the opposite list. What would you title this column? Don’t feel bad if you can’t immediately think of a word, most people can’t. As a culture we seem to have a constant underlying angst about disaster, but we are weak on holding energy towards massive optimism. Let me help.

We could label the right column “godsend” or “miracle”, but both these terms suggest that there is a supernatural being that is granting, or withholding, these glorious outcomes. We could use the heading “boon” or “fortune”, but these words seem to relate more toward financial riches than the awe of a global windfall. I’m sure there is a perfect word out there, maybe in Sanskrit, but for now I suggest: “wonderment”.

Naming the right side column is the easy part, the hard part seems to be listing ten or more positive world changing events? Take a moment and see how well you can do. For most people creating this second tally is difficult, if not impossible. If we truly co-create our reality through our thoughts, then we might try thinking more positive thoughts on a big scale. I was inspired to produce this thought experiment after regularly meeting with some of the most brilliant and conscious minds on the planet. In those meetings I was surprised to find that most of these thought leaders seemed to have an underlying apocalyptic mindset. Could it be that as a culture we believe that imagining the worst can somehow steel us for misfortune and that dreaming too big will just cause us to have our hearts broken. How’s that working for us so far? Here’s a list of some miracles I thought up:

Top 10 World Changing Wonderments

1. Cheap, clean, unlimited and massive energy source discovered
2. Cure for some or all illnesses including AIDS, cancer and mental illness
3. Instantaneous travel through space and/or time
4. Undeniable proof of higher order compassionate beings
5. Outbreak of global non-violence
6. Verification that thought directly impacts the physical world
7. Unrestricted and limitless food and water access for all
8. Biodiversity as an unintentional consequence of human existence
9. Intelligent communication with other species
10. Free, ubiquitous and immediate access for all to the Internet

How does that list sit with you? Does it seem like science fiction, religious nonsense and New Age drivel? Do you find yourself more inclined to embrace the possibility of global horrors than astonishing good fortunes? My point is that many of the businesses I interact with are trying to make the world a better place and I applaud that, but many also come from a deeper mindset of global despair. Yes, we can do a much better job of taking care of each other and the planet, but let’s do so from a place of optimism. The power of positive psychology, goal setting, and visioning has recently been deeply explored in the areas of personal transformation. We’ve yet to see these tools used for business or culture at large; maybe it’s time! Change the world and change your business by first changing your mind. Blessings!

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 19th, 2007 at 3:11 pm and is filed under conscious capitalism, experience, world, cataclysm, wonderment, positive psychology, fear, new tools for business. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.