This week in your Joyality Circle, you will be “pitching” your passion action to the rest of your group. Yes you! Everyone in the circle will have approximately 30 seconds to briefly explain their idea, their next steps, what they need and invite people’s involvement.
It’s practise for an “elevator pitch”, where you only have a short period of time with someone and you want to communicate with them the essence of what you’re up to, and enthuse and inspire them to join or support your project.
Through The Joyality Program, we hope that the seed idea you started with in Joyality 101 has grown and blossomed through the different activities, and that you now have a fledgling project to experiment with. This could be a solo or group action, tiny or ambitious, an old or new idea, complex or simple …
What is your idea / action / project? Does it have a name?
What problem/issue/challenge does it address and how?
What are your next steps and what do you need?
Who do you want to get involved? (eg., a new target audience, collaborators, mentors, existing group doing similar project already)
What is your “call to action”? What are you inviting your Joyality friends to do?
(You don’t need to answer all these questions … they’re just ideas. If you try to answer each question in one sentence, that adds up to a paragraph and 30 seconds!)
Source: Eshana Bragg, based on ideas of Rita Gyorffy.
Completing this activity is a prerequisite for all Young Activist Scholarship recipients and anyone who wants to receive a “Joyality Certificate of Completion”. We intend to follow up with you about your progress with your passion actions and would like to use them in our social media promotions of Joyality. We will ask you for permission if we would like to share your ideas more widely than other Joyality participants.
Purpose: Here are some tips for authentic, compassionate/respectful and persuasive communication. These practises are particularly useful when our intention is to inspire change in others towards the protection or care of things we care deeply about.
Preparation: Read the tips and try to remember the “taglines”:
1.Head = “I know what I know”. You do understand things about this topic that others may not, especially if you’ve been doing a bit of exploration of the issue (like in the Get the Whole Story process). So prepare, research, even try to remember a few facts and figures, as they can come in handy. 🙂 Remember also, you don’t have to know everything in order to share what you do know.
2. Heart = “I dare to care”. The other form of knowing that is important is the “heart knowing”. Being in contact with what you really care about, knowing why you care, feeling your emotions and being prepared to share them, is an important part of effective communication. This doesn’t mean you necessarily collapse into your emotions and dissolve in a bucket of tears (although this may happen and it’s okay). It does mean being able to identify, acknowledge and share those feelings with the person you are talking with. Classic “I statements” are really good for that: “I feel …. about [the issue I am concerned about]. I feel ….. when I see [action being taken to address this issue].”
3. Solar plexus = “I am not alone”. You can build your confidence by recognising that you are speaking with, and for, many others. Think about who your allies are… like-minded and like-hearted others, who agree with you and would be standing with you if they could. Imagine these people actually standing beside you, on both sides, there may be many of them. Feel that support. You could even quote inspiring statements from well-known allies (collect few quotable quotes as they can be as useful as facts and figures). Now think about the people and other beings (plants, animals, ecosystems) who you are speaking on behalf of. Who are you protecting, advocating for? Imagine them all behind you, supporting you from behind. Feel the Earth beneath your feet, and remember any of the nature connection processes, reminding you of your profound interconnection with all life.
4. Hands = “I respect and connect”. Understanding and connecting with the person you are talking with is a vital part of communication. After all, communication is a two-way process, actively involving at least two people (think about that for a moment). For someone to really hear what it is you’re saying, you need to connect to things they understand, value and are interested in … otherwise they will ‘”turn off”, or at least won’t deeply engage with you. In your conversation, ask sincere questions and try to listen to their answers without judgement. This way, you get to understand their values, concerns and learn the language they use to talk about the issue that you care about. Then, you can use these tools to actively engage with them to explore the topic … both the issue/challenge and the solutions/opportunities.
5. Feet = “I inspire action but don’t expect it”. Be clear about what you would like to see happen, not necessarily what you would like them to do (don’t point the finger at them!). Share what actions you’re taking. Share stories about what others are doing, and what positive impacts those actions are having. If it feels right, make a clear invitation or “call to action”. “Would you be interested in ….?” If their answer is negative, try not to be disappointed, but listen with respect and genuine interest to their reasons why not (this is useful information, so keep an open mind!). If their answer is positive, drink that feeling in, whether or not you think their commitment will come to fruition.
Each of these 5 tips can be symbolised by a different part of our body, which makes it an easy way to remember them. Try repeating each “tagline” while focussing on each part of your body, so they become second nature to you.
Process: In your Joyality Journal, follow these 5 pointers and write down some notes (either dot-points or free-writing) about the issue you care deeply about. Then have a 10 minute conversation with someone who is “easy” to talk to, or close to you … perhaps a family member or trusted friend. Reach out and dare to communicate with this person about what you care about, and the changes you’d like to see.
The notes you just wrote will have prepared you, so you might read them before your conversation, then just let them go (no, you don’t need to remember each point word for word!). If it feels helpful, just before you talk, you can scan your body and use your head, heart, solar plexus, hands and feet to remind you of the five tips.
Reflection: How did this go? What happened? What feelings came up for you? Anything you didn’t expect? Write about this in your journal too, or share these experiences with a supportive friend or Joyality buddy.
Think about communicating with another person, practising these tips again, perhaps with someone slightly less close to you, or with different opinions to you. How might you change what you say in order to connect with them?
Source: This process was developed by Eshana Bragg, based on a synthesis of the theories and practises of non-violent communication and social action; persuasive communication; and the input of Rita Bee and Peter Gringinger. Symbols (except Joyality sun) by Stewart Edmondson.
Purpose: We are able to change the rules of the game – the larger social, cultural and economic systems that we are a part of – in two main ways. The first is by co-creating new systems or ways of doing things, from the bottom up, like we did in Co-creating Change with Community (Joyality 501). .Doing it together!
The second way is by changing existing systems, inspiring top-down change to create new policies, laws, organisational structures and financial plans, etc. This is what we’re calling “political action”. To do this, we need to connect with, convince, and inspire individuals and groups of people who currently have great decision-making power. Let’s call them “the big end of town” … likely to be politicians, government officials, corporate CEOs and boards. Approaching these people will probably take some courage, like in the Shambhala Warrior story, but the rewards can be great, whether or not the changes you are requesting occur right then and there!
Through ‘In the Tiger’s Mouth’, we combine many of the tools you’ve learned so far in the Joyality Program, to take a courageous step towards larger scale positive change connected with your “passion action”. What scale that is, is totally up to you … it’s just about taking a step in that direction. 😀
Taking ourselves out of own own comfort zone, taking a stand, for something that we believe in can benefit us in many ways. Meeting our own fear, as we have explored in Dare to Care (J301), indicates that we care deeply about something other than ourselves. It is an opportunity for courage, and a “call to greatness”. Simply by taking positive action when we feel afraid, we can feel empowered and fully alive.
“Courage is not the absence of fear, but the ability to act in its presence.”
– Bruce Lee
By aligning our actions with our core values, by speaking our truth, we increase our self-esteem … we feel good about ourselves.
By supporting each other, and being supported by others, we feel a sense of belonging … we feel a part of something bigger than ourselves: the Earth, humanity, a positive movement for change.
By acting and speaking in ways that care for and respect our own needs, as well as the needs of others, we nurture ourselves as well as bring change to the world.
The phrase “in the tiger’s mouth” comes from some Buddhist stories that refer to being in the grip of fear, and how it is possible to find positivity, mindfulness and calmness in the midst of it. Let’s practise joyality in the tiger’s mouth! 🙂
Preparation: So, let’s start by identifying where the tiger’s mouth is for you, and your passion action … Here are a few questions that might help you do that: Where is the “frontline” of your change-making? Where are you out of your comfort zone, a bit nervous, hesitant? Where are some important decisions being made about the things you care deeply about?
This might be: talking with your closest friends and family; making a phonecall to your local politician; approaching your college administrator; or making a presentation to the CEO of your company, its board, or shareholders meeting.
If finding decision-makers doesn’t quite make sense to you in connection with your passion action, think about who might be able to support your change-making strategy, your initiative (see Tag Team J401 and Co-creating Change J501). These people might help you by providing funding, permission, endorsement or other kinds of support.
** Pause here while you write them down in your Joyality Journal. **
Once you’ve identified the person or group of people who could help bring about the changes in the world you believe are needed, you might like to have a look back at what you’ve written in your Joyality Journal about:
5 Tips for Communication (Joyality 201)
Your Mode of Communication (Joyality 201)
Building Beautiful Bridges (Joyality 501)
Process: Now you have identified some of the key decision-makers or gatekeepers important in achieving your goals or vision, write some notes in your Joyality Journal about:
What they care about? What are their needs and wants? What is likely to motivate them to support you, and/or change their current behaviours, structures, organisational frameworks?
What is your core message? What are your needs and wants? What do you want them to do? How do you want them to change their current behaviours, structures, organisational frameworks? How could they support you?
How can you re-frame your core message in their language and and make it relevant to them and their needs and wants?
Okay, now is the time to put that all together in a message to these key decision-makers that has the underlying message or tone of “How can we work together to make the world a better place?”. You could just free-write this message into your Joyality Journal, or perhaps role play it with a friend pretending to be a key decision-maker / gatekeeper.
(Try applying your insights from 5 Tips for Communication and Building Bridges while you do this.)
Reflection: Think about how you might actually use this message. We suggest you choose one of your favourite modes of communication, or you could challenge yourself to step out of you comfort zone and use one that you believe will be most effective in your strategy for changemaking.
Some ideas:Send it as a letter. Use it as a basis for a petition (paper or online), so you can demonstrate that other people feel the same way you do. Make a speech or presentation or video. Get creative! Use your writing to plan a face-to-face meeting.
(If you plan to deliver your message in person, remember that communication is much more than the words you use, and includes your tone of voice, facial expressions and body language, even your dress-code! So aim to show humility, strength and respect in all your modes of communication. Be polite and friendly. That way, your message will be most easily heard.)
We encourage you to “just do it”, and see how it feels to get this message out there into the world, and delivered to some people who might be inspired to make some far-reaching changes!
Source: Eshana Bragg. The phrase “in the tiger’s mouth” is drawn from Katrina Shields’ book of the same name (1991) and her introduction explores the meaning of the phrase (pp.xiii-xiv).
The Change Wave: how a new behaviour, idea or technology spreads through a group of people, with points of “take off” (when suddenly a lot of people start doing it, when it goes viral, etc) and “saturation” (when everyone who’s likely to change has changed).
The innovator develops a solution or an alternative that makes a significant difference to that issue. They are somewhat on the fringes of mainstream society, and may be considered ‘radical’ or ‘alternative’ by many.
Example Action: The first person to propose a new farmers market.
Change agents are the “idea brokers” for the Innovator. They look around for good ideas that could be applied across society and are passionate about finding ways to encourage others to take up the new idea, behaviour, or product/technology.
Example Action: A group of people helping to get a new farmers market up and running.
Transformers are concerned about mainstream values, though they have a sense that things could be done in a better way.
Example Action: Shoppers who are not quite satisfied with the experience or quality of the food at supermarkets and have heard about the farmers market as an alternative where they can get local, organic produce and get to know the farmers.
Mainstreamers are the vast majority of society or a particular group. The “noisy majority”, they are not interested in the particular issue of concern, they are more interested in getting on with life as normal and being part of the general community.
Example Action: Shoppers who come to the farmers market because the produce is of a high quality, reasonable value, they can get most of what they need there, and have a pleasant, social experience.
Unwilling laggards don’t like change very much at all and will only adopt something new or change their behaviours if everybody else is doing it.
Example Action: Shoppers whose neighbours and friends are going to the farmers market, and ask them to meet for coffee there! Once they start shopping at the markets, they realise it’s fine.
The Change Wave including roles in the Tag Team.
Process
Reflection
Reflection: Take a few minutes to reflect on this experience and write down some insights in your Joyality Journal.
Here are a few things to think about and ask yourself:
Were there any “ahah” moments or insights from doing this?
Can you see that this process of social change is like a tag team, with each role only needing to affect the next?
If you did experience that, imagine using this as a framework to design a strategy to get a whole bunch of people behaving in a new way! Each role is most in touch with the roles on either side of it. They understand what is important to those people on either side of them – what motivates them to change and how to communicate to them. As effective change makers, we realise that the best strategies for social change integrate all these different motivations for different people; and include partnerships with people who understand these different motivations.
So see what you can gather from your experience in the Tag Team exercise to create a change strategy for something you care deeply about. If there are gaps, that’s okay! Just notice what you don’t know … and start to learn from the people around you … what do they care about? what motivates them to make changes?
[Download MP3s while looking at the diagrams on this page: TagTeam 1(Purpose & Preparation), TagTeam2(Process) and TagTeam3(Reflection) , or you can use the text below if you find it easier, and to guide others.]
Purpose: It takes a whole society to create the level and extent of change we need to create a sustainable future. This change doesn’t have to happen all at once. But it does need to happen quickly.
Perhaps think of it like a wave at a football stadium, or the ripple effect of a single stone dropped into a pond. The change starts somewhere and reverberates through the whole system, depending on connections and communication, until every particle or member of a system moves or makes a change.
The Change Wave: how a new behaviour, idea or technology spreads through a group of people, with points of “take off” (when suddenly a lot of people start doing it, when it goes viral, etc) and “saturation” (when everyone who’s likely to change has changed).
The purpose of this exercise is to demonstrate how this sort of change can happen, and to show you that the motivation for this change can differ completely between different people in society. Social change operates kind of like a tag team, between different members of a group of people, each acting to influence each other in sometimes surprising ways.
For example, a farmers market might be initiated by someone passionate about addressing climate change and promoting local economics; its first supporters are also motivated by these same issues and are excited about getting the project off the ground and spreading the word through the community. The next people to shop at the markets come because they want to buy local, organic produce and meet the farmers. The next because they can get most of the produce they need there and because its good quality and reasonable value. The last type of people to come to the markets are because it’s simply “the place to be” and most of their friends and neighbours shop there!
Preparation: Before we start the process itself, we’d like to introduce you to the key characters in the “tag team”. (Perhaps keep these descriptions on your screen while you do the process.) These are 5 different roles that people play in the creation of change within a social system or a particular group of people.
The Change Wave including roles in the Tag Team.
The innovator: Someone who is really concerned about a particular issue in the world and is really inspired and develops a solution or an alternative that makes a significant difference to that issue. The innovator creates a new idea or an innovation, is somewhat on the fringes of mainstream society, and may be considered ‘radical’ or ‘alternative’ by many. (Eg., the first person to propose a new farmers market.)
The change agent: Is also concerned about that same issue and is looking for a solution to a particular problem. They haven’t come up with a solution but they are looking around for good ideas that could be applied across society and are passionate about finding ways encourage others to take up the new idea, behaviour, or product/technology. They are the “ideas broker” for the Innovator. (Eg., a group of people helping to get a new farmers market up and running.)
The transformer: More a member of the mainstream community, but is somewhat interested in the same issues as the change agent, and is generally interested in new ideas. They are also concerned about mainstream values, though they have a sense that things could be done in a better way. (Eg., Shoppers who are not quite satisfied with the experience or quality of the food at supermarkets and have heard about the farmers market as an alternative where they can get local, organic produce and get to know the farmers.)
The mainstreamer: This is the vast majority of society or a particular group. So you might think of them as the “noisy majority”. And essentially they are not interested in the particular issue of concern, they are more interested in getting on with life as normal and being part of the general community. (Shoppers who come to the farmers market because the produce is of a high quality, reasonable value, they can get most of what they need there, and have a pleasant, social experience.)
The unwilling laggard: This is a person who really doesn’t like change very much at all and will only adopt something new or change their behaviours if everybody else is doing it. In other words, if something becomes the new normal, then they will do it because they don’t want to be abnormal. (Eg., Shoppers whose neighbours and friends are going to the farmers market, and ask them to meet for coffee there! Once they start shopping at the markets, they realise it’s fine.)
Please note that we all play different roles depending on the particular “new behaviour” that we’re talking about. For example, I might often be a “change agent” when it comes to finding ways to connect people with nature; but I’m definitely an “unwilling laggard” when it comes to adopting new technologies like social media!
Process: In the Tag Team exercise today, you are actually the Innovator and the Change Agent (because you care about the particular challenge you are finding a solution for). You will be role-playing the other roles too, so see if you can use your imagination to create a specific character for each one (with a few details like their name, what they wear, who they hang out with, how they make a living, etc!)
Follow these instructions as best you can, and use your Joyality Journal to write down the answers to the following questions. This process is an opportunity to refine and develop your Passion Action.
Innovator
Start off imagining yourself as an innovator. Think of an environmental or social issue that you care deeply about. (This could be what you’ve done already in Joyality 101, when you found your issue or your passion.) Identify one change in behaviour that if everyone did it would make a significant difference to that problem or issue and create positive change? That change in behaviour might be a physical behaviour, or the adoption of a new technology or a new concept, or engagement in a new program/business/enterprise. When you’re thinking of that behaviour we suggest you keep it quite simple, though creative, and it could be quite a radical “out there” idea. Write that new behaviour down in your journal. This is your “innovation”.
Taking an idealistic perspective, who would you like to engage in this behaviour? Who do you want to attract? Using the language of marketing, who is your “target market”? It could be large enough to make a significant difference to the issue you care about (eg., farmers all over the world, everyone in Australia, all staff of Los Angeles City Council) … or it could be a small group of people you would like to influence (eg.,your family, close friends, college dorm, workmates). It’s up to you where you set the bar!
Change Agent
Once you have your behaviour and your group of people, switch to the second role. Imagine yourself as a Change Agent. As a Change Agent you too are passionate about the same challenge as the Innovator, in a particular real life situation, and have been wondering about how to solve it. You have heard about the new behaviour suggested by the Innovator, and ask what barriers and benefits this new behaviour has for the people you want to attract/influence? You might want to refer back to your notes from Joyality 101 when you were exploring the barriers and benefits to a new behaviour.
Then think about how you might encourage others with the same environmental and social values as you to make this change. How could you encourage other “people like you” to adopt that new behaviour or get involved in the new program/enterprise? (That way, you can find or create a small team of Change Agents … a very important first step in creating social change! Even finding one buddy to go on the journey with you makes a huge difference to change making.)
As a Change Agent, you’re interested in making the idea of the Innovator attractive, accessible and easy for people to adopt. Can you suggest any improvements to the new behaviour/innovation that could make it easier and more accessible?
As a Change Agent, you also develop connections with the people you want to influence (who are not necessarily “people like you”). Brainstorm some ideas of more mainstream people, organisations, clubs or companies who are part of, or connected with, your target market. In particular, do you have any connections with forward thinking or open minded members of those groups?
Transformer
Now, imagine yourself as a Transformer. Imagine, you’re a forward thinking member of one of these mainstream groups (eg., the most open-minded member of your family, a football player who cares deeply about the environment, a CEO of a company who embraces sustainability). You’re somewhat interested in the same social or environmental issue as the Innovator and Change Agent, but you’re also very invested in the other values of this group.
Ask yourself what are the other values, the things that are important to this group, organization, club, company etc. What are the other things, apart from the issue that are really important to them (eg., money, status/reputation, being “cool”, popularity, safety/lack of risk)? Then explore this question: Are there some ways that the new behaviour/innovation as adjusted by the Change Agents, can serve these other values? How would “you” as a Transformer communicate with and encourage members of your group to engage in the new behaviour?
One of the ways you might encourage them is to “do it yourself”. However there will be other ways that you could encourage members of your mainstream group to do the new behaviours or adopt the new innovation.
Mainstreamer
Fourthly, as a Mainstreamer, imagine you are an ordinary member of this mainstream group (family, college, university, club, workplace, neighbourhood). You’re not particularly interested in or concerned about the environmental or social issue that’s motivated the other characters. Although you may have heard about that issue, you’re just interested in getting on with your ordinary everyday life. So ask yourself, what you care most about (your family, friends, having a good job, saving money, status/reputation, being “cool”, enjoyment/personal happiness)?
What would inspire you to engage in the new behaviour? How could you be encouraged to adopt this new behaviour?
If you engaged in this behaviour, who do you think you would affect or encourage to engage in it too? Are you a role model to someone else?
Unwilling laggard
Finally imagine yourself in the fifth role. As an Unwilling Laggard, imagine that you don’t like change much at all, but that you are seeing most other members of the group engaging in this new behaviour. You don’t care much about the environmental or social issue at all, and in fact think it’s exaggerated or simply untrue. Ask yourself what you care most about (eg., doing what is considered “normal”, things being simple and easy to do, as well as other mainstream values)?
What would induce you to change your behaviour?
Reflection: Take a few minutes to reflect on this experience and write down some insights in your Joyality Journal.
Here are a few things to think about and ask yourself:
Were there any “ahah” moments or insights from doing this?
Can you see that this process of social change is like a tag team, with each role only needing to affect the next?
If you did experience that, imagine using this as a framework to design a strategy to get a whole bunch of people behaving in a new way! Each role is most in touch with the roles on either side of it. They understand what is important to those people on either side of them – what motivates them to change and how to communicate to them. As effective change makers, we realise that the best strategies for social change integrate all these different motivations for different people; and include partnerships with people who understand these different motivations.
So see what you can gather from your experience in the Tag Team exercise to create a change strategy for something you care deeply about. If there are gaps, that’s okay! Just notice what you don’t know … and start to learn from the people around you … what do they care about? what motivates them to make changes?
Source: This process is derived from a simplified version of the Amoeba Model of Social Change developed by Alan Atkinson in 1991 and is influenced by innovation diffusion theory.
Other Resources: There are many other psychological theories of social change out there, so feel free to explore and find one, or many that you really connect with. There is no “right” way to create social change, but there are certain principles and strategies that seem to work well. Basically, the more we can understand how change happens, the better we can design effective change strategies. Examples include: social learning theory; stages of change; and community-based social marketing (understanding barriers and benefits).
Next Steps: What is special about this Planning Web process is that you can actually take a vision that is very inspiring and poetic, even abstract, and make it into something that is very practical, realistic and achievable.
Now you have learned about this tool, we invite you to use it in real life! Find or create your small group of passionate allies … even one buddy is a start… and start playing with a planning web.
The next step is to convert your vision from this circular group form into an actual strategic plan. This can often be drawn up like a table with a list of tasks and various people taking on particular responsibilities, timelines and priorities. Here is an example of a vision statement, group and strategic plan for a tree planting project.
Now it is time to get practical about implementing those tasks, priorities and timelines.
In terms of taking action, one of the best things to do is to identify some of the actions or items in the strategic plan that are easily achievable. These might be the items that are synergistic or overlapping, where people can collaborate to get two wins for the price of one. Identify where people’s enthusiasm and energy is and perhaps you want to start there.
As you take on these actions, really enjoy and celebrate them, even if they are small wins and achievements. It is also important to publicise and communicate those successes along the way. It is that joyfulness, that celebration and positive reinforcement that can get other people excited and draw them into the project, process or movement.
“A vision without a task is but a dream, a task without a vision is drudgery, a vision and a task is the hope of the world”
– inscription on a church in Sussex, England, 1730
[Transcript for Co-Creating Change with Community]
Purpose: The purpose of this exercise, Co-Creating Change with Community, is to introduce you to a process that you can actually use with a small group of people with whom you share a passion, an interest, or something that you want to create together in the world. You’ll be practising doing this by yourself today, simply imagining your group of people, so that you understand the process and can focus on your individual vision dynamics. Once again, this is an imagination workout, getting you ready for the real thing! This is also another opportunity to refine your “passion action”.
The purpose of the exercise is to illustrate a few principles in terms of creating widespread social change across society: the importance of finding allies; the power of synergy; and how visioning can be converted to reality.
One of the first principles is how important it is to start where the strength is. This builds on the metaphor of a particular method of bush regeneration called The Bradley Method. The way this works is, rather than taking on the most desolate area of land that needs to be rehabilitated, you find the area that has the healthiest patch of forest and you work from there. The metaphor is that, rather than immediately trying to convince the Mainstreamers, or the Unwilling Laggards (from Tag Team), you can gather together like-minded people, other Change Agents, who you may be able to collaborate with, finding your allies, your comrades, your friends, who you can easily co-create with and form a support network in doing this.
Preparation:
** In preparation for this process, find a big piece of paper that you can get creative on! Perhaps gather a few different coloured pencils or pens, to keep things interesting. **
We invite you to bring back into focus the issue you are very passionate about and just start to scan the connections that you have, or people with whom you think share the same common interest or passion. Start by imagining that group of people, inviting that group of people to join you for a particular project.
One of the other principles that this exercise introduces is the power that a small group can have. Once you’ve found your allies and you start working together you’ll find that you all have particular focuses of interest, you all have different motivations for your passion, you all have different skills and different connections. The synergy of all those things coming together towards a common project creates this amazing potential and power for inspiration and change. It’s that co-creative energy that you can discover within your group, and hopefully also with the Earth and the ecosystems you are a part of. The Earth and its systems can also provide power and inspiration to create change and new innovations in our society.
This process also introduces you to a very simple form of visioning and strategic planning. This is a really important tool, where we can come up with a big vision that we all collectively share and we can go through a process of chunking that down into bite-sized pieces so that we can take concrete steps towards achieving and inspiring our large-scale vision.
It’s called The Planning Web, and was first developed by Peter Cuming of Sustainable Futures Australia in 1996.
Process: In your mind’s eye, we invite you to visualise a small group of people with whom you share a common passion, your concern about something, your wish to make a positive difference in the world. See if you can visualise those individual people as best you can. You might like to jot down their names, or maybe the groups of people they represent, and something about each of those people. To keep it simple, imagine no more than 5 people, and make sure they are real people that you know (even though they’ve not necessarily agreed to join you in this project!)
**Pause here while you write this down, perhaps with some stick figures, around the edge of your piece of paper.**
The Co-Creating Change process takes place over 5 steps. Here is an example of a planning web for a sustainable neighbourhood. You will create something like this for your own vision.
Step 1: Creating a shared vision
Imagine sitting down with your small group of people and having an idea about something that you want to do together. Some practical examples could be something like creating a one-time event together, or it might be an ongoing project, a new business, or an integrated campaign for social change in regard to your particular issue. So think of a project idea, whatever pops up in your head as an example, and write that in a circle in the middle of your paper.
Now do an imaginary brainstorm around your imaginary group, hearing from everybody about what their different ideas for this project would be. Take a bit of time and maybe next to the names of each of the people that you’ve written down, write any ideas you imagine them sharing about the project.
**Pause here while you do this, writing people’s ideas next to the stick figures around the edge of your paper.**
Once you’ve imagined hearing from each of the individual members of the group, we invite you to integrate those different perspectives into one vision statement. It can be one long sentence or a couple of sentences, describing in essence the core aspects of what it is that you want to create together (see our example below for a tree-planting project). (For the purposes of this exercise, maybe make it a smaller, achievable vision. It doesn’t need to be capped in that way, however you might like to start with a simpler version for your first time using this process.)
**Pause here while you do this.**
Step 2: Finding goals
Take that vision statement and break it down. Separate that overall holistic vision into a list of separate goals or aspects of that vision (no more than 5 or 6 different goals). You see that there are different parts of the vision, different aspects that you would need to achieve in order to create a whole project, a whole vision. (Our sustainable neighbourhood example above shows 8 goals, so we’d want to try and combine some to reduce their number.)
Then take each of the five or six different goals you identified. Write each goal inside a smaller circle around the outside of the big centre circle.
**Pause here while you do this.**
Step 3: Choosing roles
Imagine each imaginary person in your group, taking on one of those goals. Of the people in your group, think about what goals they might be interested in taking on, based on what you know about them with regards to their personal interest, or skills, what sorts of things they would feel particularly passionate about, interested in or skilled to deal with. Write one of your group member’s names next to each goal.
**Pause here while you do this.**
Step 4: Taking steps towards the vision
Just around the outside of your central vision circle, write either your whole vision statement, or some key words from that vision statement, or a summary of that vision statement. You might want to draw an image or a few symbols to help illustrate what you hope to achieve.
Draw lines between your goals and your central vision, to represent the stepping stones or pathways to achieve the vision.
** Pause here while you do this. **
Imagine that you are physically with your team of people, and that this “web” pattern is laid out on the floor.
Imagine them standing in a circle, with each of them holding one of the goals, looking to the centre of the circle where the vision sits. This vision is the thing that is inspiring all of you, and yet each of you are taking on separate responsibilities based on your abilities and interests.
Imagine everybody actually taking a few physical steps forwards into the circle towards this vision. Imagine each person taking steps towards achieving their particular goal in order to co-create the shared vision.
You’re one of those people, taking on responsibility for one of those goals. Whatever goal it is that you are responsible for, I invite you to think of some tangible, important steps that need to be taken to work towards that particular goal.
**Pause here while you ponder this and write some ideas down.***
Step 5: Focusing on synergies
If you are doing this process alone, we invite you to take one more of those goals and imagine taking responsibility for coordinating that goal and standing in the circle, focused towards that central vision, taking on that second goal. What steps would be important to take in order to achieve that second goal?
[If you are actually doing this in a real group of people, ask the others to share the goals they have taken on and the steps to reach their goals.]
**Pause here while you do this.**
Then compare the different ideas for the achieving goals that you and other people have come up with. Are there any synergies or crossovers? In other words, how are you thinking alike and differently? How can you help each other to reach this collective vision? These synergies are often the places to focus your initial energy, because they will be easy wins, easy things to achieve and collaborate on.
Each person in the group needs to be interested in the success, not only of their own goal, but of each others goals. Without the successful realisation of all of the goals the vision itself will not become a reality.
Reflection: What is special about this Planning Web process is that you can actually take a vision that is very inspiring and poetic, even abstract, and make it into something that is very practical, realistic and achievable.
Now you have learned about this tool, we invite you to use it in real life! Find or create your small group of passionate allies … even one buddy is a start… and start playing with a planning web.
The next step is to convert your vision from this circular group form into an actual strategic plan. This can often be drawn up like a table with a list of tasks and various people taking on particular responsibilities, timelines and priorities. Here is an example of a vision statement, group and strategic plan for a tree planting project.
Now it is time to get practical about implementing those tasks, priorities and timelines.
In terms of taking action, one of the best things to do is to identify some of the actions or items in the strategic plan that are easily achievable. These might be the items that are synergistic or overlapping, where people can collaborate to get two wins for the price of one. Identify where people’s enthusiasm and energy is and perhaps you want to start there.
As you take on these actions, really enjoy and celebrate them, even if they are small wins and achievements. It is also important to publicise and communicate those successes along the way. It is that joyfulness, that celebration and positive reinforcement that can get other people excited and draw them into the project, process or movement.
“A vision without a task is but a dream, a task without a vision is drudgery, a vision and a task is the hope of the world”
– inscription on a church in Sussex, England, 1730
Source: This Co-Creating Change exercise was created by Eshana Bragg based on a strategic planning tool called The Planning Web, originally developed by Peter Cuming of Sustainable Futures Australia in 1996. It has been used for collaborative planning involving up to 200 people – from large city-scale sustainability plans to small projects with indigenous communities in the bush – all with successful on-the-ground outcomes.
Purpose: Whether we realise it or not, we focus our attention on the present moment, and don’t notice that change is happening around and within us. On top of that, we tend to compare the present situation with a desired future and think that change towards it is very slow moving!
Process 1: Take a moment to think about what social changes have occurred in your lifetime, particularly related to racial, gender and sexuality, and environmental values and behaviours …
Write these down in your Joyality Journal.
Now think about the stories you have been told by your parents about their childhoods and young adult lives. What changes in racial, gender and environmental values and behaviours have occurred in their lifetimes? What is different for you compared to when your parents were your age?
Write these down in your Joyality Journal.
Now think even further back, to the stories your grandparents have told you about what the world was like when they were growing up. What changes in values have occurred between their lifetimes and yours?
Write these down in your Joyality Journal.
Reflection: Looking back only a few generations, through the lives of people that we know and love, we can see that change does happen and that values that seem immovable transform. Many people who were alive at the beginning of the 20th century thought that women would never have the vote, or have the educational or career opportunities that we experience today. When African Americans, Australian Aborigines and Black South Africans were still legally segregated from ‘whites’ in schools, transport, and areas of towns in the 1950’s most people thought that would not change. Even in the early 2000’s it was hard to believe that so many people, businesses and governments would be taking such an interest in environmental issues and solutions as they are today. When issues are institutionalized like this, it can be hard to see how things could ever change. Yet because some people maintained a clear and passionate vision of a better world and fought for that vision, things changed.
Process 2: Now think about yourself and your own life.
How have you changed over the past year? The past five years? The past ten years?
Write this down in your Joyality Journal.
Reflection: You see yourself everyday so you probably don’t notice yourself changing most of the time. But when you look back at the person you were even one year ago, you probably feel very different than you did then. You are constantly changing, evolving, growing up, expanding your views and your horizons, and deepening your capacity to live well in this world and work to heal it.
Process: On a blank page in your Joyality Journal do a quick free association with the word “radical”. Just write whatever words or phrases come into your mind when you say the word radical, don’t censor yourself, write as many as you can think of.
When you are finished do the same thing for the word “activist”.
When you are done with both, look back at what you have written down.
What words came up? Common ones might be “crazy”, “angry”, “in your face”, “passionate” or “unrealistic”. The words “radical” and “activist” have come to carry negative connotations for many people and can produce a lot of discomfort and a desire not to be associated with these identities.
In order to creative rapid, effective, and positive change in the world it is crucial to redefine what words like “radical” and “activist” mean to us. The word “radical” literally means “of or going to the root”; the radicle is the first root a plant puts out when it germinates, and anchors the plant in the Earth allowing it to grow. The word “activist” simply means someone who acts intentionally to bring about social, political, economic or environmental change. It doesn’t specify that one must stand on street corners badgering pedestrians or march in the street waving signs in protest. These are all legitimate ways to be an activist, and we need those people out in the streets, but if that’s not for you, it’s okay, you can still be an activist.
Are there any other words that feel better for you to identify with, that describe your motivations and actions to make the world a better place?
Reflection: Just allow yourself to sit with the following statements, say them to yourself, either silently or out loud:
“I am an activist.”
“I am radical.”
“I am …. whatever alternative labels you came up with … changemaker, change agent, advocate, etc.”
Just notice your feeling state, scanning your body and focusing on your feelings and sensations, in response to each one. Adopt one for your own personal use … the one that feels most empowering and nurturing for you. But also practise feeling okay about the other words, in case other people label you that. Breathe and be. Know that they are all just labels, socially constructed reality that, to some extent, we can choose.
Free write in your journal if that feels good.
Know that we are all active in some way, even if we don’t see ourselves that way. Even if it is only as consumers, that still makes us activists for the economy, and for a particular type of economy at that. We cannot escape the fact that our choices and actions, however small, have rippling effects across the globe and throughout the planet’s ecosystems, even though we do not personally see or feel them. Our extractive and globalized economy ensures this fact.
We see then, that one does not have to march in a protest waving hand-painted signs or stand on a street corner aggressively asking people to donate to this human rights organization or that environmental protection group. We all know those activists, and though their intentions are good and their passion is inspiring, they usually do not succeed in convincing us to support their cause. This is because their strategy touches on our guilt and our privilege, and more often than not this causes people to avert their eyes, walk faster, feel defensive, and try to put as much physical, mental and emotional space between themselves and those starving children or drowning polar bears. This does not have to be what activism looks like. In fact – if we want to create rapid, positive and inclusive change – this style of communication is often not the most effective strategy.
Source: Written by Rachel Taylor, based on a process created by Eshana Bragg for her ‘Action for Social Change’ workshop, SIT Study Abroad ‘Sustainability and Environmental Action’ program (2008).
This process is designed to help you find a “seed” for a Passion Action or Passion Project. This might be a very simple action (deciding not to use plastic straws), or a large ambitious project (eg., starting a new political party!). It can be something completely new in your life, that you’ve not thought of before. It may be something you’ve been wanting to do for awhile but keep putting off, or it can be a project you’ve been working on for a while and want to take some new steps with. This is your chance to channel your energy into something you care about deeply, and get lots of support along the way. You will be developing and working with this “Passion Action” throughout the course of the Joyality Program.
Preparation:
Think of an issue, a particular problem, or something you feel really passionate about. (Although we all have issues and problems in our personal lives, this is an opportunity to focus on something that has broader effects on ecosystems, society and the planet.) It can be an issue you are already working on, something that really upsets you, or something that you really love and want to protect.
Try to pick something that is specific and manageable, not so broad or vague that you get totally lost and overwhelmed. For instance, if you’re passionate about the issue of the waste of resources and the pollution it creates, instead of focusing on “waste” , try something more like “waste in coffee shops” or “waste at our local school”. This way you have a point of focus and a defined community in which to take action. Now turn the issue into a challenge. “Zero waste in coffee shops” or “waste reduction at our local school”.
If you’re feeling stuck or confused, look back in your journal to theWhat is it you want to sustain?exercise to help yourself focus on what you care most about preserving in this world. This might remind you of things that are particularly threatening to what you love and/or particular skills or avenues you have to create change.
Process:
Write your issue/problem and challenge down in your Joyality Journal. Writing it down helps you solidify it in your mind and serves as a kind of mental commitment to that issue.
Write a bit about how you feel about this issue, “I feel … “.
Write a bit about how you would feel if this issue was resolved, healed or transformed, if we met or addressed the challenge, “I would feel …”.
Now, take it one step further and identify just one action you can take right now that relates to or helps to solve the issue you are passionate about. For instance, if the challenge you have chosen is “zero waste in coffee shops”, your action could be bringing a reusable coffee cup with you everyday so you don’t use disposable cups anymore. Choose something that is realistic, but that you are not doing already. Remember that, although it may seem small, if everyone took this action it would change the world.
Reflection:
After you have written down this seed of your Passion Action, take a moment to close your eyes and imagine billions of people across the planet taking this simple, realistic action. How would that change the world? How does that feel?
Now come back to focusing on your own self, and reflect on the (likely) assumption that you alone, as one person, taking this action will not “make any difference” at all. We understand the pull of this assumption, it feels really true sometimes!
However, your impact is likely to ripple out in unexpected ways, through having conversations with people and others witnessing your action. You might inspire others to take the action with you! Additionally, taking positive action towards something you care about has positive psychological and emotional impacts and maybe even a positive physical influence on your health. Aligning your daily actions and choices with your core values about life is a deeply empowering and satisfying thing to do. It can help you feel more purposeful and positive in yourself and your life, and more in control of things you care about. It often has a cascading, self re-enforcing effect, empowering you to make other changes in your life you never thought possible and aligning your reality even more closely with your values.
Purpose: This exercise helps you to identify the resources and strengths you already have that can be used to create positive change towards a sustainable future (or, more specifically, in your passion action).
Preparation: On a blank sheet draw two lines to divide the page into four quadrants. Label the first quadrant “personal qualities and passions”, the second “skills, experience and knowledge”, the third “physical resources and tools”, and the fourth “connections with people and organizations”.
This exercise can be done individually or with a friend, but doing it with a friend can be more fun and perhaps easier as well. If you are doing it with another person, trade papers so you are writing in each others journals and take turns completing the exercise with one person asking the questions and recording the answers in the other persons journal as they answer.
Process: Try to be as thorough and specific as possible with this exercise, and focus on strengths that you can use to be a powerful positive changemaker. You might find it easiest to write in dot-points inside each quadrant.
What personal qualities and passions would make you a good change maker?
What issues really fire you up?
What do you love doing?
What qualities or character traits to do you have?
What skills, experiences and knowledge do you have that would be useful for bringing positive change?
What academic or work experiences do you have?
What issues or subjects do you know a lot about?
What interpersonal, technical or physical skills do you have?
What physical resources and tools do you have access to that could be useful?
This can include things like financial resources, communication resources, or transportation resources. These are often things we take for granted as “normal”, forgetting the power and abilities they give us.
What connections do you have with people and organizations?
Who do you know?
Who do members of your family know?
What groups, clubs or organizations are you or have you been a part of?
What personal, academic and/or professional relationships do you have?
Spend 5 minutes to write yourself a short ‘bio’ paragraph as if you were about to give a public talk, presentation at a conference or workshop, based on some of the dot points you’ve recorded on the page. Start your bio with “[Your name] is a powerful changemaker who …”. Better still, if you are doing this with a friend, write bios for each other!
Reflection: How do you feel after doing that exercise? We often forget all the qualities, skills, resources and connections that we already have and therefore we forget how much we are actually capable of doing NOW. It can be easy to feel like you don’t know enough, or don’t have enough experience or power to affect any change. We have a cultural habit of relegating our dreams and our happiness to the future, and anchoring them to circumstances. We do the same with our power. We hope this exercise helps you realize that, while your potential is limitless, you already have everything you need to get started.
Purpose: This is a simple but critical exercise in creating change, whether on an individual, community or social/political/economic scale.
Preparation: From now on in the Joyality Program, let’s call the actions you just identified that you (and others) could take toward your issue/passion your “passion action”. You will be able to refine your passion action as we journey through the Joyality Program, so allow yourself to be creative with the process.
Process: Underneath where you’ve written your passion action in your Joyality Journal, draw a vertical line down the middle of the page. Now, to think about what the barriers and benefits are related to your passion action, ask yourself a few questions:
Barriers (write these down the left hand side of the page):
What is stopping you from taking this action?
What will be hard about taking this action?
Are there any skills or resources you need and don’t have in order to undertake it?
Are there psychological or social barriers to taking this action?
How will you overcome, deal with or address these barriers? (write these down the right hand side of the page, beside each of the barriers)
Benefits:
What are the benefits to you in taking this action? How will your life be better if you do this?
What benefits are there psychologically and emotionally? Physically? Socially?
What are the benefits to other people and the planet when you take this action? Describe these in some detail … what will the world be like if the issue you are addressing is resolved, healed or transformed?
Will taking this action make it easier for you to take other actions?
Reflection: Now that you have identified the barriers and benefits of the action you have chosen to take, you have a much better understanding of what taking this action will involve. You will be prepared for the challenges and take them in stride instead of allowing them to discourage you. You also have a clearer idea of why taking this action is important to you and how your life will be better if you do this.
Source: This process was developed by Eshana Bragg and Rachel Taylor, inspired by the community based social marketing approach developed by environmental psychologists Doug Mackenzie-Mohr and William Smith (1999).
Step 1: Creating a shared vision
The Joyality Program 