Reflection: Truly CHANGING Your Paradigm is Very Challenging!

"Change" is not just the stuff that jingles in your pocket!

It's seems like part and parcel of human nature that we want change and we want things to change and sometimes we are even willing to admit that WE need to change, in terms of what we do, how we choose, what we believe.

I once overheard a wise person — whose opinion I respect — point out that sudden life-altering change is pretty rare; the way most people change things in their lives tends to be small and incremental. I think that particularly can hold true when fundamental "game changers" happen, in our environment and culture.

These days, we hear a lot of talk about "Web 3.0." Here in the Hive ecosystem, people probably have a better idea of what Web 3.0 is and means... but even so, it seems to me that there are some paradigm shifts coming down the pike that might be really difficult for people to grasp.

Even though I feel like I pretty much have a front-row seat here, some of it really stretches my brain, as I try to wrap myself around certain ideas.

One of the ones that sometimes makes my head spin is the idea of "value," in a digital context.

Seems like we can't really look to "conventional" thinking, when it comes to determining what has value, and what does not.

As a writer — for example — I come from a paradigm where in order for an essay, article or piece of creative writing to have value, it must be interesting and compelling enough to garner at least tens of thousands of views. Sure, memes and tweets may be fun, but they are typically not perceived to have much value, because "how can" 250-characters have value?

Of course, the "old" assumption is that "value" is a product of effort and skill. But we are rapidly moving towards an experience where someone's social capital is what has value.

Changing paradigms takes time, though. And people are often remarkably attached to "old ways" of doing things.

I'm not quite what you might call a "digital native." I created my first email account on America Online in 1993 (almost 30 years — woo-hoo!) when there were fewer than one million people on the planet with Internet access... so I'm pretty close.

Even so, you might still catch me going to the bank to physically deposit a check someone sent me, and there are occasions where I will write and send a physical printed letter, rather than use email or something like Skype, Zoom or Facetime.

The most difficult part of paradigm changes are the ones that involve doing things — or accepting things — that make absolutely no sense to you. It's like having an experience that what you have always counted on as being "up" is now suddenly "down."

And there are definitely aspects of Web 3.0 that are like that. I think most people can grasp decentralization, but they are also all-to-familiar with the sort of decision making gridlock that often happens in meatspace "co-ops" that govern themselves by consensus. Getting anything done moves at a snail's pace. Many people I have talked to see the value of decentralization from a purely philosophical perspective, but how can it be functional when people can almost never agree on anything?

"Well, that's Web 2.0 thinking!"

Indeed, but that doesn't make changing someone's paradigm any easier.

As some of you know, @cosmictriage (aka Mrs. Denmarkguy) is a therapist so she sees many first-hand examples of just how difficult it can be for people to totally change their paradigm, even when faced with inevitable and unpleasant truths.

The vast majority of people just want to "poke at the edges" without fully jumping in and embracing the new. Hence the myriad people people who can say that they are "in therapy" but it's not really working to change much because they are ultimately very resistant to changing their paradigms.

Change is — perhaps — "inevitable," but there are some pretty good reasons why changes often happen a lot slower than most innovators think.

Thanks for reading, and have a great remainder of your week!

How about you? How well do you handle change? Have you ever faced a COMPLETE paradigm change, in some aspect of your life? How long did it take to become comfortable with? Comments, feedback and other interaction is invited and welcomed! Because — after all — SOCIAL content is about interacting, right? Leave a comment — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 20220817 23:59 PDT
0634/1880