How to Create an Inclusive World
What would it be like if you lived in a world where everyone felt included and no one was left out? What if you could include everyone to the extent that they felt valued and thus were willing to share their gifts?
What is inclusion you may be asking? Inclusion is the action of including all individuals within a group or structure. It is diverse in including everyone whether around race, ethnicity, age, ability, language, nationality, socioeconomic status, gender, religion or sexual orientation.
I imagine you are wondering why I am bringing up inclusion on this mindset blog. I was wondering the same thing until I realized diversity and inclusion are all about mindset.
Have you ever had experiences where you were not included? Do you have internal conversations like: “I don’t matter” or “I have nothing to bring to the table in this conversation.” Does saying what you are thinking open you up to being criticized? Is your mindset worried that the criticism is true? If the story is true, then you would be a fraud and everyone would know the “truth”…“You are not as smart as you pretend to be.” And on and on and on. So instead, you keep quiet and don’t contribute to the conversation.
Have you ever been in a business or social situation where you didn’t contribute your ideas due to limiting conversations? Yes, we’ve all been in this spot and for some of you, it’s a familiar spot to be in. So much in your world is lost to judgement and not feeling valuable. Consider that there is an entire population in our culture who do not feel valued…those with physical and mental challenges. And yet, they are incredibly gifted individuals. It’s not how smart are you. It’s what are you smart in. With this mindset, everyone can feel included.
I remember in school when education shifted to group work as opposed to the teacher talking in the front of the room. I found myself sitting back in the group, sometimes even moving my chair out of the circle. I was working really hard to not be noticed and to not open my mouth for fear of criticism. It took a lot of energy to remain invisible. Then my limiting conversations would really get loud. “I can’t do this.” “No-one is going to care what I have to say.” “I’m not smart enough.” And on and on and on. Can you relate?
Today, awareness of limiters, allows a conscious shift to strengths and possibilities. What you focus on, you experience more of. That’s just the way it works. Focusing on your contribution and your special view of the world is what matters most? Inclusion in business and life means focusing on what each member of a group brings to the table.
When you experience the big picture of including everyone, you get curious about what other people could bring ‘to the table.’ This expansiveness benefits all people and all projects. It’s not easy to gain this mindset but it will be worth it.
Inclusion for everyone is like an open book with all the pages on the left filled up and the pages on the right empty. We get to choose how the pages on the right are filled. Be the person who makes the choice to pen your book with a vision of inclusion going forward.
Why would you want to include everyone in your vision, you may be asking? “You worked hard to get to where you are today and look at those people who just abuse drugs. They are making their own bed and you made choices that gave you your bed. You like your bed.” Why should you share your experience after all the hard work?
Would it be all right with you to see that you mirror everything in your life? This deep concept, seeing that you mirror the person who is addicted to drugs or the person who is homeless is a game changer. Ask yourself, “Where in my life am I expressing addiction?” If it isn’t drugs, could it be sugar, television, your phone, gambling, partying…or is it the myriad of other addictions that you as a human being can be expressing? Only when you honestly look in the mirror of your own life, can you begin to have compassion for people on the edge of society and include them.
Your brain is wired to chatter all sorts of negative thoughts with most of these thoughts being unconscious. It is believed that this “negativity bias” is in your DNA and developed during the stone age period. So the truth is your negative chatter is not going away. You will question inclusion principles always. The mission for everyone is to uncover those thoughts, and you have plenty of them in the area of inclusion.
If you are willing to look at energy for just a moment, you can begin to see what the human experience is all about. Everything is energy. That is a known fact. The trees that are growing upward and the thoughts that you think. It’s all energy. When you look at combustion energy, air and gases are compressed to create ignition. You can ignite your dreams by fueling them with passion like the heat that is needed to change invisible air into steam. Your thoughts are like that. Fueling your thoughts with the heat of passion can cause a thought to occur in real life.
You so often get stuck around diversity and fairness. You think there’s nothing you can do. So ask yourself, “What baby step can I take right here, right now?” Then take it. Think successfully, talk successfully, and act successfully.
Know that everything is energy: thoughts, words and actions. Inclusive thoughts, words and actions have the power to make a world that works for everyone. Be the gatekeeper of your thoughts, words and actions. Notice what you’re noticing you are listening to in your ‘chatter box.’ Notice what you’re noticing when you open your mouth and speak. Notice your actions. They are all connected and creating the world you are living.
Not to go down a rabbit hole with mirroring, energy and negativity bias concepts but the knowing that you create your experience with your thoughts, words and actions. What would you like to see in relation to inclusion and diversity of all human life? Passion inspires and fuels the mind like a combustion engine. The experience of inclusion success can rock your world and the world of so many other people.
In bringing this blog to landing, I’d like to clarify that inclusion expresses respect and appreciation for all members of society as they are valuable assets to any community. Inclusion expresses and opens the door for everyone to participate in their community settings and be listened to. Their contribution is part of the whole and is a necessary piece to a healed world.