Ever Tried A Shift?

A paradigm shift is not just a corporate buzzword. 
You can use it to transform your life

A paradigm (pronounced ‘pa-ra-dime’) is a world view. We all look at the world around us in accordance with a certain paradigm which we use depending on what we believe is reliable and true. It is derived from the Greek word paradeigma, which means ‘pattern’ or ‘example’.

Thomas Kuhn defined paradigm best as “an entire constellation of beliefs, values and techniques etc shared by the members of a given community.” It is a framework, a perspective, how you interpret your part of your world.

Simply put, paradigms are how you see things.

A classic example that demonstrates the power of visual paradigms is a simple drawing. 

Do you see a vase or two human faces facing each other? Depends on your current paradigm: is it what you ‘expect to see’ or what you ‘actually see’?

A paradigm shift is a change to a new game and a new set of rules, from one fundamental view to a different one.

Let’s try another exercise.

Close your eyes and imagine a yellow object that normally appears yellow. However, if I were to ask you to see it through a red glass, it would appear orange; if through a blue glass, it would appear green. Which of these colours is correct?

Perhaps even yellow is not correct, since the actual colour of the object’s surface could be white, which reflects yellow light thrown on it externally.

What is Paradigm Paralysis
Paradigm paralysis is the inability to see beyond the current models of thinking. For instance, our earth was believed to be flat for ages until it was conclusively proved to be spherical by Magellan’s circumnavigation of the Earth.

There are no rights or wrongs when it comes to paradigms. (contradicts Magellan and Galileo!)

To give you a more contemporary example, in India, we are habituated (and legally required) to drive on the left side of the road. But we are faced with a paradigm shift when we have to drive, on the right side of the road, in the USA.

A paradigm shift is a change to a new game and a new set of rules, from one fundamental view to a different one. For instance, Galileo’s telescopic observations prompted him to refute those who believed that the Sun and planets orbited the Earth, a major paradigm shift from geocentrism to heliocentrism.

The evolution of a new paradigm marks a new stage in thinking. Major paradigm shifts that have dramatically impacted our lives include the internet, the microwave, the mobile phone, iTunes etc.
Paradigms can impact your life and your success profoundly at another level. For instance, we are all familiar with the proverb, ‘Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.’ But if you create a paradigm that lets you see only people’s beauty and wonderfully unique qualities, think of how your relationships will be positively influenced.

Creating a new paradigm has become one of the most overused buzzwords in the corporate world today. What kind of individuals can initiate a paradigm shift to meet new challenges?

Some of them could be young people, fresh out of training. Older people can do it too if they shift vocational fields. Both can be successful because they bring naïveté and don’t know what can’t be done. They ask ‘dumb’ questions, they probe with fresh eyes, they wonder. When training newcomers, try giving them some of your shelved problems. They will not do it the ‘correct’ way since they don’t know the current paradigm. Bingo! New paradigm.

One type of paradigm shift is when a problem itself is redefined. The person who does this requires both imagination and vision. 

Then there is the Maverick, who has knowledge of the paradigm but is not captured by it. Or the Tinkerer, who plays around and keeps fiddling. We also have serendipity (covered earlier) or chance discoveries that happen when the mind is prepared and open to them.

Given that change is the only constant in life, a paradigm shift could be one way of changing your life.

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Thought for the Week

“Your paradigm is so intrinsic to your mental process 
that you are hardly aware of its existence 
until you try to communicate with someone 
with a different paradigm.”
Donella Meadows
(American organic farmer, journalist, and systems analyst 1941- 2001)
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First published in Gray Matter - The Hindustan Times