The Danger of a Single Story
The danger of a
single story is a very interesting video that made me think about things that I
have had in my mind as single story, until the truth dawned upon me and things turned
out to be much different than what I thought. Knowing and believing what I had
learned all my life, about a particular subject has proved to be life changing by
the major decisions taken with existing knowledge. Video provides great
examples of what was known to her because of what she was taught. On discovering
something different gave her a shock and a similar shock happened to her
roommate. The video also provides insight about looking at things with a
different perspective and not judging anything based on single story.
Looking at my
own life and thinking about the times when I had a single story in my mind I came
up with a number of examples. Even now, sometimes I look at things with a
guaranteed story in mind; I am always in for a shock. Over a period of time I have
learned to reverse think about my worst fears that I believe would be true. That
just gives me a directly opposite side of the story and reverses the outcome. Now
here I start by asking myself “what if” question and that is what reverses my
outcome. So far I have been extremely satisfied by the results and have noticed
that most of the times my fears because of self created beliefs were just my
belief in single story. The outcome was much pleasant and rewarding with a
different perspective.
I cannot explain
how much I have been able to relate to this video. The coincidence is really funny.
It is strange that we, most of the times, preconceive things which become our
beliefs and it becomes very difficult to get out of those beliefs. The narrow
mindedness creeps in and we start to protect those beliefs. It needs a very
strong will and self awareness to fight these beliefs and look at a different
perspective. I can now see what impact education has on our life. How education
can make us aware of such conditions that exist and make us capable to overcome
them. I have always believed in education removing the blinds of darkness and
shining a bright light on our minds.
To become a
successful leader self awareness and social/emotional intelligence are the main
skills that we need to either have or learn. Single story can lead to failure
as a leader. It becomes pertinent for a leader to not only gather information
about all the aspects of any condition or circumstance but also analyze the
same. Sometimes a leader has to make a quick decision. In such a situation, a
mind that is prepared and trained to quickly weigh multiple aspects, can make a
much informed and better decision than others. This course in leadership communications
is an eye opener in looking at the multiple stories before coming to a
conclusion. We all can relate to our beliefs that are inherent part of our personalities.
To conclude I would
say Adichie touched on a
very sensitive subject and made people feel guilty (which includes me) about
what we think and present to others with the limited information we have. She
had a point to prove and a story to tell. She told her story in a very
successful way or I can say that she “told the right story” in the “tell the story
right” manner which created a huge impact on not only the live audience but
also people like me who were just watching the video. This video has also made
me a better person by making me aware of the condition of single story. I am
not only able to relate to the presentation but am also able to improve my
thinking. This will make me a better leader for the future.
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