Hey uguba ndubuisi, happy Sunday!
What's the pathway to progress?
It sure feels like the world is falling apart, right?
We have a thriving pandemic, rampant inflation, and increasing wealth inequality. Markets are on a precipice. Institutions are prioritizing profit over truth. War is imminent. The left and the right have gone BONKERS.
If you're skeptical, Twitter and the media will confirm these allegations.
Scary stuff. So what's a person to do in this time of darkness?
You could try to change things.
But that's hard. How can you convince ideological monsters of how bad they've become? How can help people see just how [socialist, racist, classists, elitist, anarchist] they are?
Impossible. Better to silence these monsters than to understand them. You cannot reason with monsters. You've tried. They never quite grasp how dangerous they've become.
Those damn algorithms have duped them. Big Tech has them on the hook. They're only going to listen to their poisonous information source of choice.
So why bother? If the world is burning down, you might as well scream your truth while you still can. Even if other people don't come around, at least you'll be on the right side of history.
If you're feeling this way, I get it.
The world has a lot of real problems that we need to solve. The algorithms have driven some people to very odd places. And it really is harder than ever to discern truth from manipulation.
But what's the right response in this environment if you truly care about reducing the real injustices of the world?
Is castigating and silencing ideological foes the pathway to progress? Is it better to stay in your echo chamber and hear the applause of people who already agree with you?
Consider this: Have you ever changed your mind when someone called you a foul name or insulted your intelligence?
Me neither.
So why has this become the go-to playbook when we see something we don't like?
For the media, politicians, and outrage junkies, this strategy makes sense. The media profits from the spread of outrage. Politicians thrive in times of division. And those outrage junkies get dopamine hits when they dunk on their latest target.
But for you and me – everyday people – we know this is not how to change the world. We know that this playbook doesn't work.
It may work in generating awareness or getting people mad on Twitter. But how often does that lead to enduring change? Awareness is one part of solving problems, but it can't be the only goal.
Awareness is only useful to the extent it drives productive action.
Productive action means winning the hearts and minds of other people. It means identifying the causes of problems and proposing potential solutions. It means inspiring people to act toward a desired and measurable outcome.
It's a slow and deliberate process that involves a ton of work and tradeoffs.
Let's imagine we wanted to help people get out of poverty.
Anyone who is not a sociopath agrees this is a problem worth solving.
The disagreement and chaos comes with how we solve the problem.
So how do we tackle the problem of poverty?
Do we dunk on Elon Musk and other billionaires for having too much money? Do we blame the healthcare system that lines the pockets of Big Pharma? Do we amplify videos of politicians saying dumb things?
That's what a lot of people do. And it generates applause from many people.
But who does this actually help? Does anyone in poverty make it out when your tweet goes viral? Once the likes stop coming in, do you yourself even feel good about what you've done?
The truth is we all know that it's really hard to get people out of poverty. There is no single cause of the problem. There is no overnight solution.
I clawed my way out of poverty. It took me 25 years, and I had some really good luck and great people to help me along the way.
Solving a big problem like poverty is a multi-decade process.
It involves people and institutions from every level of society. You have to convince people who have different priorities and incentives to care. Then you need to get them to change and make sacrifices. That's not easy.
But being the lazy creatures we like to be, we ignore these complicated long-term solutions in favor of short-term actions that get attention.
We demonize and blame other people. We say things to show others how much we care about poverty. We virtue signal to our in-groups.
Little by little, we squander our precious time on actions that don't actually help those people who need it most.
Changing the world requires a different approach.
It starts with avoiding the many alluring traps that favor short-term outrage over long-term progress.
That means doing your best to never:
- Assume bad intentions
- Refuse to listen to someone who disagrees with you
- Minimize good actions
- Take people's behavior out of context
- Fail to see the humanity in people
- Invalidate other people's experience
- Fuel "us versus them" narratives
If you've been doing these things for a long time, it's hard to stop. It's an addiction that takes time to beat. But you and anyone can do it.
Once you cleanse yourself of these bad habits, you need to think hard about what you REALLY care about.
You can't solve every problem. It's better to choose the 1-2 areas that mean the most to you. They don't have to be the popular ones. Just things that really make you tick and want to help.
With your issues identified, find a small way to move the needle.
Become knowledgeable about the problem and its root causes. Map out potential solutions. Talk with people who agree and disagree with you. Find ways to inspire other people to care about the cause. Take action.
Little by little, chip away at your piece in the puzzle. That can be as simple as mentoring a stranger or helping a family member.
While everyone else is scrolling Twitter, keep working on your cause. No matter how small or large of a dent you make, you can sleep well. You're a hero. You're doing the real work.
Even if that means helping just one person better navigate life, that's well worth the effort. It's better than what most people are doing.
Impact starts with small actions.
And you, me, and everyone else who's breathing can do that. We don't have to manifest a world-changing utopia overnight. We can do little things every day. Those small actions matter.
So yeah, I guess what I'm saying is figure out what you can do to make the world more of what you want it to be.
Don't focus too much on what the outrage machine wants you to believe. And be nice to people, even if they aren't always nice to you.
At the very least, do no harm.
In case you missed it
The Hidden Power of Language
Language is one of the most powerful tools that humans have accessible to them. In our latest podcast episode, me and Steph discuss the power of words and how language can shape the way we think. We use untranslatable words to convey these concepts and share how language has been shown to impact anything from our impression of time, space, or even emotional regularity.
Thanks for tuning in, and see you in two weeks.
Cheers,
Cal
