Slowly there are people beginning to understand that most of the problems the world is facing are due to an old model or way of thinking. For example: As we continue to expand the "consumer" based economic model, the "FACTS" are starting to get in the way. There are about 7 billion people on the planet. What would it be like if EVERY one of them had an automobile, a boat, an electric drill, a washing machine, and the few hundred other essential items we all cherish. IS there enough metal, plastic and other resources to build 7,000,000,000 of everything? (9 billion before long at the current rate of population increase). Stop and think about it. That is actually the goal of a consumer based economic model. Sell your product to everyone if possible, and then hopefully you have a new model which replaces the old one so you can sell 7 billion more. Do you really think there are enough resources to continue this model of living? The numbers are revealing that it can't be done.
If the facts bear out, and I think it's becoming obvious, it should and will bring up the question of how we handle it. The two major models are 1.) We fight for what's left 2.) We figure out how to share and preserve
Right now #1 is the model 99.99% of us live by every day. We don't notice how much this model is what we live by, in the same way that people could not see that the earth spinning caused the illusion that the sun was going around us. No one at fault, no one plotting evil designs, everyone following what they believe is THE way to live. While it's easy to condemn the .1% 'ers do you think they wake up and say "how can I hurt people and damage the earth"? Like you and I, billionaires likely believe they are doing the best they can to help the world. If they can just sell a few more billion i-gadgets, barrels of oil, tons of coal, plastic bottles of soda or water, etc, etc, then everyone will be better off. The Japanese merchant that paid over $1,000,000 for a single tuna was surely proud of his accomplishment. What will the last tuna be worth? If you don't think that resource is running out, how do you explain the price?
You can read about the whole resource thing in Michael Klare's book "The Race for What's Left". I haven't read it, but it's just one of the many indicators that lead to my assessment of what the future holds. That brings us back to the Facts/Assessment thing.
- Build the skill of being able to easily identify which is which.
- Good rule of thumb: Anything that has any shade of good or bad is an assessment. Is there a thing we call rocks, oil, oxygen? Does the world agree? (Rhetorical - yes we do)
- Are you smart, dumb, cheap, generous? Are the ?????? the best team in ????? We should increase/decrease our spending on ?????
- See the difference?
- Build your assessment skills.
- Is your neighbor/co-worker/?????? smart? -
- Should you follow their investment/childcare/sex advice? -
- If you go to ????? university, you will ????? -
- Congressperson ????? will ?????? and then ?????? will be a lot better!
- What if you were far more skillful in understanding and making ALL your choices?
- EVERY decision you make is based on an assessment. How many decisions do you make in a day?
- What would your life be like if you could improve how you make assessments.
