“We want a system change!” is a common slogan we keep hearing during the ongoing protests in Sri Lanka. It’s one of the most common phrases we hear from protests across the world too. Some say a system change leads to changes in individuals, whereas others argue that it is individual change, turned into a collective change, which contributes to a societal transformation. While many theories and examples can be brought out to prove both these arguments, it’s worth pondering on the idea that individual change might be easier to achieve than a systemic change.
When we talk about societal change, we usually suggest a constructive transformation in the way society functions; when we talk about personal change we focus more on our behaviours. However, we have a tendency to downgrade the need to alter our personal and collective attitudes and beliefs that keep us away from constructive change.
Different psychology branches have different stances on personal change. Some believe our behaviour is dictated by the environment alone, while another group believes that it is a result of both the individual and the environment. Sigmund Freud, in the early 1900s, said that our behaviour is shaped by the things that we experience in our past, even during our childhood.
Whether it be a systemic or an individual change, if a change is what you want, you have to first take into account the various influences at play both within the mind and in the environment. Sometimes, focusing on one isolated incident, where you feel there is a need for change, might not give a holistic perception of the situation.
Modern-day psychologist Kurt Lewin describes that the process of change has three steps. He calls the first step unfreezing – preparation by recognising that the change is necessary. The person has to take charge of disassembling old beliefs and practices. Change occurs in the second step and is a rather uncomfortable phase. As we break down the old mindset, we may feel confused. The final step, freezing, occurs when a new mindset is solid in our mind and we feel comfortable with it.
The unfreezing stage is perhaps the most complex stage of the process. We are naturally wired to resist changes in our fixed mindsets and routines. This is why sometimes people stay in their first job until they retire, despite feelings of being stuck. We react to this stage defensively as we are expected to leave our comfort system; learning a new set of skills or changing our routine is rather challenging.
We can overcome this challenge only when we are ready to accept that change is necessary and will lead to the best possible outcome. The actual change process will also be unnerving. People cannot be given a new belief system. We have to unlearn our previously learned beliefs and find and accept one befitting us. We do this by identifying the gaps in our old belief system, learning the array of new information present, and also by relying on our instincts.
You may remember this story you heard as a child.
A very young son approaches his busy father. To keep the child busy, the father tears a page off a book with a world map on it. He cuts it into small pieces and asks his son to fix the dismantled world map using tape. The father expects the child will keep busy with this activity for hours. But, to his surprise, the child comes back to him with the fixed map after a short while. “How is it possible for my young son to fix a world map puzzle so soon?” the puzzled father wonders. “How did you do that?”
“Well, when you tore the page from the book, I saw a picture of a man on the other side. When you gave me the world to fix, I tried but I failed. Then I flipped all the pieces and started to fix the person. When I fixed the man, I turned it over. Ta…da… the world had been fixed as well.”
(Kusumanjalee Thilakarathna is a mental health professional and has, over the past ten years, contributed to several Sri Lankan media publications in both English and Sinhala languages. She mainly focuses on topics related to psychology and counselling in her writing)
