Alzati Leadership Blog by Susan Ann Darley

The Greatest Challenge of the 21st Century:

You’re ahead of the curve if you’ve figured out that it isn’t a black and white world. Unfortunately, not enough people have and are stuck in the “I’m right, your wrong” mindset.

 

What defines the concept of “black and white” is when a person is so painfully handcuffed to their personal beliefs that they refuse to open their mind to entertain another’s point of view.

 

A closed mind is at the core of every problem that confronts us

The 21st century is proving to be challenging on a number of levels. Physically it feels like we’re climbing up a steep hill against the wind as we deal with layered crises.

 

Mentally we need calm, clear thinking, yet the heightened drama and tragedy of events can easily disturb us emotionally. Spiritually many people feel lost, alone and even hopeless.

 

Why are we going through so much?

The simple answer – we need to. America, a very young country, appears to be in its teenage years. As parents know, the passage into adulthood can be daunting, troublesome and messy.  Not to mention, most teens are tone-deaf.

 

Being neither Republican nor Democrat, I’ll share a brief dream I had in 2016. I was in my living room turning on several lights, expecting company. Across the hall in another room was Donald Trump with a suitcase. I told him he had to leave.

 

I’ve worked with my dreams for over 30 years and I knew what it meant. I had to clean up unpleasant aspects of myself, which he represented, in order for him to leave.

 

Mirror, mirror on the wall

The divide in this country represents the conflict within ourselves and it’s obvious we’re not even close to making peace. Like a drug, we’re hooked on blame.

 

Our old patterns and beliefs need to change. Our one-way thinking has to go and that requires facing ourselves instead of using others as our scapegoat.

 

The challenge of self-responsibility

When we have the courage to face and let go of our personal, individual flaws, we will become part of the solution. Many people practice this but not enough.

 

The United States of America is known as the “land of the free,” but are we? Are we united?  If we want to live up to the beauty and soul of America, then it’s time to grow up.

 

It’s up to us to choose our destiny.