Tipping Points

The intricacies of balance 

We’ve all heard of the infamous quotes such as the ‘straw that broke the camel’s back’ and the handful of sayings that all have a way of describing an immense, powerful and explosive change. Well, meet tipping points; the more reserved but equally important catalyst of change. 

Tipping Points are interesting because almost everything in our world, including ourselves, always remain in a delicate state of balance most of the time until we don’t. That’s the most difficult aspect of tipping points, as we do not know when we will reach it and when we do, what happens next? 

In this months’ edition we will explore ideas that we all are familiar with and which are conducive to a tipping point because the change and conversations they bring about are not only needed but wanted.
 

Andrew Peek: How your personal narrative limits your future

Every fairy tale ever ends with ” …and they lived happily ever after”. But wait a minute. Is that truly the end? Are the characters really happy forever? Do they no longer have to face Herculean tasks and agonizing adversities in their paths to finding their true purpose? Was that really just a one time thing?

Unfortunately, for us, reality couldn’t be more disappointing. Each of us has experienced failure. We have all had that one moment in life when all else seems vile and when nothing seems to matter anymore. A time when you have just had enough. When things don’t go according to the script of life which you so meticulously planned and wrote for yourself. In a world where change is the only constant, this feeling of hopelessness kicks in more often than one expects. So then what must one do?

 

 

“Every moment becomes this wonderful chance to recalibrate, to revisit your relationship to another idea.” 

-Andrew Peek

Having experienced his fair share of failures, serial tech entrepreneur, Andrew Peek, shares that the only way to deal with this sense of failure is by moving away from the idea of “the story of me” to “the idea of me”. He goes on to explain how in this current age of change, instead of mopping over the (apparent) tragic ending to our story, we should rather focus on recreating ourselves each and every day. By embracing the change happening around us rather than fearing and hiding from it, Peek suggests that we must “let go of what should be for what is” and allow ourselves to grow without self-imposed constraints. Because, at the end of it all, more than being our favorite story, we’d rather be our greatest creation – an idea waiting to happen!

 Lilly Singh : “A Seat at the Table” Isn’t the Solution for Gender Equity

Society and women have long equated success with a seat at the table for women followed by the never-ending stream of gratitude that should be given for receiving such a seat at the table. However, what do you do when the seat has splinters, is too wobbly or there are not enough seats? When you are so focused on holding yourself and not falling over that you cannot even join the conversation at the table. Do you look for new seats or try to fix the seat? According to Lilly Singh, you just build better tables. In her own words “ Allow me to be your very own IKEA manual”.

 

“I quickly learned there’s an invisible gatekeeper called culture and the table is smack-dab in the middle of it”

– Lilly Singh

Lilly Singh shares 3 steps that would make it possible to build better tables and in turn bring about effective change, conversations and perspectives. This would require all of us to take part and learn. The current table has clearly shown that it does not work not just in the workplace but across all aspects of societies. Watch as Lilly shares her personal experiences with her seat at a table, her opportunity to fix that table and what this means for half of the population of the world.

Luvvie Ajayi Jones:Get comfortable with being uncomfortable  

“Fear has a very concrete power of keeping us from doing and saying things that are our purposes” according to Luvvie Ajayi Jones. Think about it. Throughout just the course of one day how many times do we let fear dictate our actions? Fear has a purpose but where do you draw the line? For Luvvie Ajayi Jones, she decided to chase after everything that scared her. Such as going on her first solo-vacation which included everything from zip-lining to swimming with dolphins.

 

 

“There are too few people to be the domino, too few people willing to take that fall”

– Luvvie Ajayi Jones

Comfort and being comfortable also entails our relationship with truth, integrity, justice. Comfort and being comfortable also entails our relationship with ourselves and our immediate reality we live in. So where is the tipping point between your comfort zone and the rest? Watch Luvvie Ajayi Jones explain how she had to become comfortable with being uncomfortable to become herself.