The Recreational Whinge: There are so many issues and crisis situations impacting our planet and society and I can get really frustrated, angry and sad when I think about them and what appears to be a crisis of leadership in responding to them.

There’s a great book by David Orr called, Down to the Wire in which he states that the toxicity we find in the planet has a direct relationship to the toxicity of human relationships.

David writes, “We must transform the relationship with ourselves if we’re going to transform the relationship with nature.”  He also states, “This is a crisis of governance and leadership.”

I couldn’t agree more!

As a human being who is paying attention, and also as a professional coach who discusses such things with clients all the time, I feel there is a great need for all citizens of this planet to step up and take an active leadership role in our lives and to take responsibility for the choices we’re making which impact ourselves and others, including the environment and all of the life forms that we share it with.

I’m frustrated by the things we allow to continue without REALLY taking responsibility for them or for changing them.  Here are just a few of the situations that concern me:

• War
• Political Conflict
• Corruption
• Weapons of incredibly devastating damage
• Poverty
• Homelessness
• Repression
• Starvation
• Lack of access to medical care
• Greed
• Materialism
• Irresponsibility of corporations and governments
• Unethical behaviour
• Mental illness and depression
• Substance addiction
• Fundamentalism
• Anger
• Bad behaviour
• Bullying
• Poor role modelling
• Fraud
• Hate
• Hate crimes
• Fear of multiculturalism
• Fear of asylum seekers
• Terrorism
• Equal rights
• Withholding education from women
• The unequal treatment of women
• Acid attacks
• Censorship
• Cruelty to animals
• The disastrous state of our environments
• Lack of critical thinking skills
• Lack of considering the consequences of the choices we make
• Lack of taking responsibility for ourselves and our choices

We are only born with two fears biologically: loud noises and falling.

Every other fear is learned.  And we often learn these fears by being taught to fear them.

Fear leads to hate which means that we can also be taught to hate.

If we can be taught hate, we can also be taught fear.

If we can learn to fear, we can also learn to let go of the hate and love instead.

Why is this so hard for society to get this right?

The Positive Spin: I am a keynote speaker at a coaching conference at the end of this month and part of my message to professional coaches is this:

It is wonderful to be able to support people to set and achieve goals.  But that’s only part of what we do.

We have a great skill set that could be applied to the world’s greatest issues, and there are lots of ways we can do this with respect, permission, ethics and authenticity.

I believe it is our calling as coaches…as humans…to not only put in the intention but also put in the necessary action to have a positive impact on the lives of others and the environments we share.  Apathy in this regard is unethical.

I’d also like to highlight a wonderful organisation – The Foundation for International Leadership Coaching.  They provide access to coaching for world governments and non-governmental organisations.  Coaches donate a half day a month to support the sustainable change and positive leadership on this planet.  Check out the site to see how you can contribute.