Big Questions Alternate Perspectives, Fall 2012

Heather Schlegel

“World Problems”

• Pollution • Limited Resources • Global Warming • Rising Population • Water Crisis • Peak Oil • Economic Crisis • World Wide Catastrophe

Success

Appreciative Inquiry

Principles

• Constructivist Principle • Poetic Principle • Simultaneity Principle • Anticipatory Principle • Positive Principle

4-D Cycle

• (Define) • Discovery • Dream • Design • Destiny

• The “Problem” of Species Success • What works when Success = Problems

Constructivist Principal see the world as I am

“FIRST World Problems”

• Pollution • Limited Resources • Global Warming • Rising Population • Water Crisis • Peak Oil • Economic Crisis • World Wide Catastrophe

Human Guilt

Constructivist Principle see the world as I am

• I Pollute • I use Limited Resources • I make the world warmer • I add to a Rising Population • I contribute to the Water Crisis • I encourage Peak Oil • I made Economic Crisis • I create World Wide Catastrophe

Poetic Principle what we focus on grows

• That Laundry list of problems • Doom and Gloom media attitude • Negative Gravity • Celebrity Solutions • Overnight Success • BIG! • Armchair visionaries • Fear based Inaction • This assignment!

The Poetic Principle focusing on what we want to grow

• Happiness • Baby Steps • Positive Reinforcement • Small Solutions • Practice • Ongoing success • Celebrations • Everyday people • Encouraged Experimentation

Simultaneity Principle inquire & change are simultaneous

• We are already changing • Change in-flight • No beginning, no end • Unusual thinking • Take responsibility for creating the problems -

What are they really? • This presentation!

Anticipatory Principle what we believe, we conceive

• Pure, Fresh, Clean, Re-Newed World • Abundant Resources • Plentiful diverse economic exchanges • Supporting Self-Actualized Population • Comfortable Climate for Life • Curious Excitement • Positive Pioneering • Ongoing Practice and Exploration

New Set of Problems

Positive Principle identify and leverage strengths

• Communities • Science and Discovery • Open Communication, Sharing • Increasing Stability, Certainty • Transformation of raw to refined • All those good human emotions

– Joy, Love, Compassion, Inspiration, Cooperation • Tenacious

Discover

• What characteristics supported human success?

• What is the positive core of the human being? • How has the human positively impacted the

earth, world, the solar system, etc?

Dream

• What is our purpose as humans? • What is the (our) vision?

– Individual Perspective – Community/collective perspective – Species perspective – Objective perspective – External perspective

Design

• Relationships and Organizations • Positive curiosity • Confident in human abilities

Destiny What will happen, is the only thing that

could happen

Conclusion abundant problems, abundant solutions