When you’re working to solve a big, complicated problem—it can be hard to explain why what you’re doing is important. At least, it can be hard to explain it in a way that doesn’t take credit for the whole solution or the whole effort.
Can you alone mitigate climate change? Does your organization have the answer on how to improve outcomes in resource-denied populations? Is your idea the one that solves the problem of “how to be happy” once and for all?
Probably not.
It’s tempting to claim it, though. You need others to see the enormous value in what you do. You need them to value your contribution enough to act. The world seems to want you to make those claims, too. To make the problem or the answer seem easy. (“People’s minds aren’t made for problems that large.”)
But what if there’s a different model?
There was a time, not that long ago, when the only way to put out a fire was with a “bucket brigade.” That’s where a group of people—the “brigade”—stations themselves in a sort of chain between a fire and a source of water.
After the person at the water-end of the chain filled a bucket, they’d pass it to the next person in the chain. From there, each person would pass the bucket, one to another, along the chain until the last person poured it on the fire itself. Another chain of people passed the empty buckets back to the water source and the whole process would begin again.
With just one bucket, or just one person, the process doesn’t work very well. The fire gets too big for one bucket or one person to make a difference. But with enough people, and enough buckets—enough so that each person has their hands on a bucket at all times—you have a chance of putting out even the biggest fires.
But no one person saves the day. No single bucket is the solution to the problem. Any person who claimed either would be derided or dismissed.
Maybe you see where I’m going with this.
Because if you take one person or one bucket out of the line, it breaks the chain. The problem becomes just a little bit harder to solve. It takes just a little bit longer.
And when you’re fighting a fire, that delay could be all it takes to lose control.
Every person plays a role. Every bucket makes a difference.
You do, too. Let’s tell that to the world.
If you take one person or one bucket out of the line, it breaks the chain. The problem becomes just a little bit harder to solve. Click To TweetPlease note that many of the links are affiliate links, which means if you buy a thing I link to, I get a percentage of the cost, and then donate it to charity.
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