Liz Strauss at Successful Blog

Thinking, writing, business ideas … You’re only a stranger once.

January 29, 2007

Change the World: Let People Out of the Boxes

ME Liz Strauss wrote this at 4:32 am

If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!

They Had made Up My Mind

Change the World!

I once worked in a highly political culture. It took a while to know that politica played a huge role there. I had moved to a new city and a new job. I had to sort what was the company and what was the culture in part of the country.

As any new employee, I got to know the folks in my department. They showed me the “ropes” of the company, how things worked, and who was who. I took what I was told on face value.

Time went by. I found feet and my way around. I got to know what worked for me. I got to know what didn’t work too. I figured out that some of those folks who showed me around in the early days had political reasons for telling me things they told me.

I didn’t take into account how my beliefs about the company had been affected by conversations with those political people. It was a while before I woke to realize something about me I didn’t like.


I had opinions about people — people I didn’t know. I had become part of a culture that put people in little boxes.

My mind had people organized by one or two traits and their political clout within the company. It was part of the cultural organizational chart, the oral history handed down to me when I arrived there. I had bought it, as fishers say, “hook, line and sinker.”

That morning I started over. I started talking to all of the folks at work with clear intent of getting to know them. The more I talked, the more I enjoyed the folks that I was getting to know. I found that I’d been missing out on some pretty cool, intelligent people.

The world changed that day, when I let the people out of the boxes.

We can change the world — just like that.
–ME “Liz” Strauss

______________
If you’re ready to change the world, send me your thoughts in a guest post. Feel free to take the gorgeous Change the World image up there that Sandy designed back to your blog. Or help yourself to this one.

Change the World!.

Email me about what you’re doing or what we might do. Let’s change the world one bit at a time together. Together it can’t take forever.





Filed under Motivation/Inspiration, Successful Blog |




C'mon. Let's talk!

5 Comments to “Change the World: Let People Out of the Boxes”

  1. January 29th, 2007 at 7:08 am
    Tim Singleton said

    Morning, Liz!

    I totally agree with letting people out of their boxes. We have a very dour woman here at my day job who almost never smiles. Always growling, always ill as a stirred up hornet about something. I can’t say why but one day I just started to call her Sunshine whenever I see her in the hall. Now, when she sees me she smiles. Well, maybe smiles is a strong word, but I think she is trying to smile. Either that or she is dreaming of snapping my tendons; you never know. I am trying to coax her out of her box; we will see. She has a hard job and works for the worst bosses you could have and as they say, crap rolls downhill. I am sure everyday is a stress test for her.

    Also, when you let people out of their boxes, make sure you look at what boxes you have put up around yourself. I know the last 8 years have shown me quite a few layers and levels of boxes that I really am better off without.

  2. January 29th, 2007 at 7:13 am
    ME Strauss said

    Good morning, Tim!
    Thanks for pointing out there are so many ways that we box ourselves and each other in. I’m sure we do it with the best of intentions — trying to get a sense of who someone is — but the problem comes when we don’t allow for any behaviors that don’t fit within the box we’ve defined.

    You’re about boxing ourselves in. So often I argue for my own limits . . . talking up what I’m not good at, rather than giving something a try. I see other folks do that too. Imagine if we all pushed a bit. :)

  3. January 29th, 2007 at 7:50 am
    katiebird said

    Good morning Liz!

    I’m finally up to some early morning blogging again. And this is a wonderful post for a wonderful day!

    Both the post itself — the fact of people listening / judging based on a narrow view — happens all the time with new people. And it’s very frustrating to view from the outside. It’s very interesting for me to read about it from the inside (and out again!)

    I also love the “Change the World” slogan. As an amazing coincidence, I’ve taken a leap (based on my own deep commitment and your Net Neutrality series) of starting a Cover Everyone series where I’ll be sharing information about Universal and Single-Payer Health Care. I’m also stepping outside-the-blog to do real-world educational efforts.

    Thank you so much (again) for helping me develop the idea.

  4. January 29th, 2007 at 9:49 am
    ME Strauss said

    Hi Katie!
    It’s great to see you! Glad to hear you’re getting to come up for air.

    It’s so cool that we’re on the same plane and going in the same direction. I’m so smiling about that. :)

    I think your Universal and Single-Payer Health Care initiative is a fabulous idea!

  5. February 14th, 2007 at 10:20 am
    Liz Strauss at Successful Blog - Steve Pavlina and Liz on Relationships said

    [...] Related Change the World: Let People Out of the Boxes Change the World: That One Person Is Better Why DO I Blog . . . ? Uh-oh! The Deep, Meaningful Answer [...]

Name (required)

Email (required)

Website

C'mon Let's Talk!