View AI video in Life Journey playlist
I grew up on a farm with our closest neighbors five miles away. As a farm boy, I never worried much about what to do in my spare time. Life was full of things that always required attention, so my worldview was limited to a small area in northeast South Dakota, USA. It wasn’t until my dubious flirtation with going to school that I noticed the world had a wider variety of people than my little universe. Four or five years into this educational journey, I noticed that most people had their own universes, many of which were different from mine. Though these other universes seemed to have a basic foundation as mine, their voices often differed widely from mine. These voices were sometimes recognizable, and others were not understandable, bringing with them a puzzling and occasionally frightening.
My limited worldview was challenged by life's realities, which were confusing and disruptive for some time. It wasn’t until my eighth year on the journey that things began to change. I was big for my age; honestly, that hasn’t changed. My local school in Bristol, South Dakota, was a typical rural endeavor comprised of one two-story building and a gymnasium. It had to be large enough to hold 100-120 students in grades 1 through 12. What it lacked in size it made up for by enthusiasm for school activities. With 120 students, everybody participated in everything. Because of my physical properties, I was recruited to be on the football team in the eighth grade. (American football) At that time, it was six-man football, and they needed all the help they could get.
It was that experience that impacted my worldview forever after. Even though everyone on the team had their ideas and voices when on the field, we were on common ground. Every player was important, and the challenge was to work together and play as one. There, I learned the value of the phrase “None of us are as smart as all of us.” The phrase highlights the importance of working collaboratively and the understanding that no matter how smart or talented an individual may be, there is a limit to what they can achieve alone. This phrase reinforces the importance of teamwork, diversity, and cooperation to bring out the best outcomes.
We sometimes get it wrong, no matter how much we promote, champion, or rationalize our ideas and positions. The best way to mitigate and add value to our thinking is to seek other opinions. Talking to people (at all levels and in all places) is the best way to expand our view and perspective of the world and its challenges. By combining our strengths and knowledge, we can achieve much more together than we could ever do alone. Collaboration enables us to pool ideas and perspectives that can bring new insights and solutions to the table, leading to better results.
Together, we can overcome challenges, maximize resources, innovate, and improve processes. Collaboration helps us achieve better outcomes, builds stronger relationships, promotes learning opportunities, and increases motivation and engagement. A worldview filled with sensitivity, cultural awareness, and respect for other voices will change the world as we know it.
I agree.