THEIA: Importance of experiences out of the zone comfort

Why it is important to make experiences which are challenging young people to leave their zone of comfort?

Physiologically and psychologically humans grow through tension and eustress. Thus, exposing people to situations where they are challenged and forced to come up with solutions, they will be forced to grow.

Exposing people to situations where their favorite things are not available, they find new favorite things. This applies to food, material items, people, comforts etc. For example, when you are running for a long time it is extremely pleasurable to walk, and when you are walking for a long time it is extremely pleasurable to sit, and so on. When pushed to the limit, you appreciate things more, which you may have otherwise disliked. When this is applied to material items, you build compassion and understanding for people that do not have the material items. For example, when in a hot country where people do not use air conditioning due to lack of money or energy, you learn to appreciate a fan, and how to live in a hot environment without air conditioning. You also learn that air conditioning is a luxury and not a necessity.

It does not stop there. When returning to a place where air conditioning is the norm, you look at people’s use of air conditioning differently. You are more aware of it. You begin to think about your use of air conditioning and you begin to question others. 

The latter is the tricky part. For us,  we choose to lead through action and not explicitly question people. When we do explicitly question people it is strategically timed, based on the other person’s interest, and done with love and compassion. Without this it is seen as judgement and often leads to further separation and disconnection. Air conditioning is just one example, but this could apply to many things. 

THEIA: Aha-Effect

What is needed for an aha effect in learning (open eyes, head and heart effect ) what do we need to translate this effect into sustainable competences?

For an aha moment to occur someone needs to be free from stress, worry and anxiety. They need to have the present awareness to take in the learning. 

To translate these learnings into sustainable competencies opportunities for reflections, focused conversations and opportunities to experiment with their learnings are needed. Reflections can happen individually, with a group or with a Theia mentor. 

Individual reflection and journaling is important to realize and organize ideas. But, reflection, in isolation can be detrimental and create false perceptions of self and abilities. Often, people develop ideas and they sit in their head for a long time, then when they voice them they find out that they do not complete sense or they became aware of the flaws in them. It

Is necessary to voice your ideas to other people. Other people may have the same ideas from different contexts. They may have differing ideas. Either way their experiences can help you to better understand yours. Similarly, talking to someone who is a good listener can help you to better understand your thoughts. When people ask questions it forces you to assess your thoughts and further analyze them.

Similarly, if you only talk about your ideas but never put them into action then, besides sharing them with others, they do not result in any practical application or change. They are simply become empty thoughts. When you put your ideas in to action you can really see their worth. A lot of ideas are ideological and out of line with reality, thus when they get implemented it is realized that the systems or people are not ready or able to accommodate them. 

This allows you to learn from your aha moments and then refine them and use them to make a real change. This applies to personal, organizational and institutional developments. 

Simply put; Words speak louder than thoughts and actions, speak louder than words. 

THEIA: Sense. Lead. Extend.

Emily Scott, senior manager at Deloitte, ans a Theia's linkedIn network partner, accurately noted that change is perpetual and that an organization’s ability to be aware of realities and foresee solutions to improve them (sense), have the courage and ability to change (lead) and then to use the tools available to bring that change to scale (extend) .

Individuals are microcosms of organizations. Genuinely successful and sustainable organizations need individuals that have the same traits. Specifically, individuals that can constantly check-in with themselves and consciously assess/ideate on how to change their actions to develop in a positive direction (sense), then have the courage and self-efficacy to break their mindless habits and change their behavior (lead) and, finally, after having developed new perspectives/practices have the ability to compassionately create/use the tools to share their learnings with others.

Theia International’s programs are designed to help individuals develop the skills to sense, lead and extend, so that they can perpetually develop themselves and become assets to the communities and organizations that they are are/will be a part of. External changes come from within. In order to develop sustainable organizations and companies we need to develop sustainable individuals.