A lot has been written about the courage to leave bad relationships. We call people courageous; Why then do we, as a collective society, panic when countries leave a partnership that isn’t working? Why do we rail against a sense among our own country that radical change is needed? The right and privilege to turn away from what is no longer working is not reserved for the individual; it is driven by the individual.
We all know that the courage to turn away from what is not working makes space for something better to be formed in its place. The understanding that radical change is needed is therefore cause for celebration – it is step one towards something better. I am not saying it is easy. On the contrary, radical change is so hard that libraries of books and blogs are still frequently read on the subject. We say it takes immense courage to turn away from what is not working. So why do we question the future of a people who clearly have that kind of courage?
The people of the UK made a courageous move when they voted to turn and walk away from a partnership that was no longer working for them. They are to be celebrated, not downgraded. They are to be revered, not reviled. A people with that kind of courage will lead to a country that is stronger than ever; more productive than ever, and more prosperous than ever; because now a better partnership can be formed in it’s place.
Across the world, their sentiment is not unique. The US has never been a country more divided. But the one thing we all seemed to agree on is that the road we were on was not a good one and radical change was needed. While we could not disagree further on exactly what kind of change was needed, we are all of one courageous mind that what we need is to turn away from policies that are no longer working. This overwhelming and visceral recognition that radical change is needed is wonderful – we no longer have our heads in the sand.
The trick now for both countries AND ourselves as individuals, is to correctly identify exactly what policies to change, and what to keep. Figuring out exactly what part of your life needs radical change can be the hardest part. Maybe that is why we panic. Change is hard and we don’t want to get it wrong; especially at the country level. But the decision is not very different than bringing radical change to your own life – we all just want to prosper – to live our lives in our own way. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, right? So don’t panic… you are the driving force for change in your country , as much as in your own life. Things will be fine. In fact, they will be great; if only we have the courage to turn.
