Stories are powerful. Stories lie at the heart of culture. Can stories define us?
“We all get told stories growing up about who we are, what we are capable of,
what we ought to be and what we shouldn’t ever consider ourselves to be…
Whether we choose to believe these stories or not changes who we become…
We can choose to write our own next chapters and re-shape our lives… ”
R. Lockhart – Catalyst In Communities 2019
If I was to say that you are the author of your own life story…that you write your own story on a daily basis - hour to hour, minute to minute - second by second... do you feel excited, or perhaps scared or apprehensive?
Do you really believe that this is true?
Do you feel that it is time to write a new story; to re-write the story of you / your life?
What has or is stopping you?
Many of us spend years dreaming of a time when we can, at last, improve our own life... change our story and achieve the things we have dreamed of; see / visit the places / things we have longed for; live the life we always and all ways knew we wanted to...
Can you imagine how an 18 year old who is in the midst of struggling with pain and fear and other powerful emotions might feel about this?
Anti-Knife crime youth interventions often seem to ask participants to adopt behaviours that they are either totally unaware of or that feel totally unrealistic to them.
At Catalyst In Communities (www.teamcic.com) we know that ‘Young people don’t care how much we know; until they know how much we care’.
We therefore focus on a Youth Coaching methodology that sees the participant as the only true solution to their problems / challenges.
Our ‘Inside - Out’ model of learning reveals the original meaning of the word ‘Education’ - from the root word Educe – ‘to bring out or elicit something latent; to reveal inner wisdom and potential’.
We ensure that participants understand that Anger and Violence stem from Hurt and Pain; that it is our Belief Systems + Our Thinking that leads to our Behaviour.
Belief System + Thinking = Behaviour
Once we are able to see that our Belief System was inaccurate, our thinking improves and so does our behaviour.
If we can help someone process and deal with their past hurt and pain, we see that their propensity to commit any violence dissolves and dissipates - leaving them unable to conduct the previous problematic behaviour… This is the practice we call ‘The Art Of Perception’.
These days it seems there are so many problems that need fixing…
We are living in a time when it feels that there are so many things wrong; when young
people are struggling to live lives that are positive, healthy, productive and happy.
Wellbeing issues, mental health challenges, violence (to self and others), drug / alcohol
abuse, gangs, unemployment, radicalisation, homelessness… it seems that there is an
almost overwhelming deluge on a daily basis in the world’s media…
All of these issues are real and we must find the solutions.
In my opinion, they all come down to well-being.
The way we see ourselves and our world is the decisive factor in determining how we feel.
Changing our perspective directly influences our emotional state.
All change begins in the mind.
“If we see people only as problems to be fixed and that external factors such as their environment or their background are the root causes of their problems we miss out on the very solutions to these problems...” R. Lockhart 2020
What if the biggest problem is actually the ‘lens’ people are viewed / look through?
If we begin to look through a ‘lens’ that sees‘ what is right’ rather than focusing solely on ‘what is wrong’, we begin to see that we possess the wisdom and capacity to solve our own challenges… We are incredibly resilient and given the right platform and support, once we see this for ourselves, new stories emerge… People are not their problems… They face their problems.
Robin Lockhart is the Director of Catalyst In Communities (www.teamcic.com) - a Social Enterprise specialising in providing Coaching, Training, Projects and Interventions to those facing challenges and to those working in this field. In 2016 Robin received the Commonwealth Global Youth Worker of the Year Award and in 2018 he became a Commonwealth Youth Work Ambassador. Robin also sits on the Council at the Institute For Youth Work.
Team CIC also provide strategic and leadership support to the Charity Through Unity (www.throughunity.com) - supporting those affected by homicide in England.
