I am conscious that some of my weekly ‘tidbits’ probably call out my own midlife crisis / exploration more than anything else. This, of course assumes I will live to be 100! In the interests of being vulnerable, here goes: I have been thinking about goodness. I guess its because of the preparation that’s going on for the team day coming up in September. It might also link to a collection of experiences and learnings that have come across my path over the last 12 months. So I am really playing around with the idea that ‘being good’ matters.  And the definition of good I am running is in relation to the ‘highest good’ from the ancient Greek philosophy of Cisero. The Latin expression is summum bonum and it links to the question of what is the ultimate importance of life. Summum bonum therefore is an end in itself and is the overriding end which human beings ought to pursue (according to the philosophy). I then came across the following  TED Talk about which country does the most good for the world  and I thought I’d share it with you.

I really like the description of microscopic and telescopic vision that Simon Anholt uses. This got me thinking about when I use microscopic thinking / vision in my own life (its all about me / I am all there is in this story) versus when I am more telescopic in my thinking/visioning (What else is going on here? / What might others experience as a result of this action?). The challenge I throw out to you this week is to find a situation in which you are deeply embroiled. One that’s occupying your mind and perhaps gnawing at you. I would like you to cause yourself to pause. Ask yourself, “What would happen if I take a telescopic view of this situation? What else might be going on? What other possibilities exist? How are others impacted by what I am doing? What would Ultimate Good look like?” See if being telescopic lifts you up and potentially out of your situation to such an extent that you discover solutions that serve a better good for you and others. I also encourage you to share your stories with those around you and teach others this technique.

Enjoy the TED – if nothing else you’ll  learn  which country in the world is ‘the goodest’ of them all.