So What's a Paradigm?

Set A:
"Everything that can be invented has been invented"-Charles Duell, 1899
"Nothing of importance has happened today"-King George 3 , 1776
"The earth is the centre of the universe"-Ptolemy, 2nd century
"For majority of people, use of tobacco has a beneficial"- Dr. Ian G. Macdonald ,1969
"We don't like their sound. Groups of guitars are on the way out." -Decca ,1962

Set B:
"No one in my family has ever gone to college. I'd be crazy to think I could make it."
"It's no use. My step-dad and I will never get along. We're just too different."
"My teacher is out to get me"
"She's so pretty.. I'll bet she's a jerk."
"It's impossible to get a good job around here 'cause nobody wants to hire a teen."

What do these two sets of statements have in common? First ,they are all perceptions about the way things are. Second ,they are all inaccurate or incomplete ,even though the people who said them are convinced they are true.

Another word for perceptions is paradigms [pair-a-dimes]. A paradigm is the way you see something, your point of view, frame of reference, or belief. As you may have noticed, our paradigms are often way off the mark, and, as a result , they create limitations. For instance ,you may be convinced that you don't have what it takes to get in college. But, remember, Ptolemy was just as convinced that the Earth was the centre of the universe.

And think about the teen who believes that she cant get along with her step-dad. If that is her paradigm, is she likely to ever get along? Probably not, because belief will hold her back.

Paradigms are like glasses. When you have incomplete paradigms about yourself or life in general, its like wearing glasses with the wrong prescription. As a result, what you see is what you get. If you believe you are dumb, that very belief will make you dumb. If you believe that your sister is dumb, you will look for evidence to support your belief, find it , and she will remain dumb in your eyes. On the other hand if you believe that you are smart, that belief will cast a rosy hue on everything you do.

A friend of mine Krisha (name changed) once shared with me how much she loved the beauty of mountains. One day she went to visit her eye doctor and, to her surprise , discovered that her sight was much worse than she had thought. After putting in her new contacts, she was astonished at how well she could see. As she put it, "I realised that the mountains and trees and even the sign on the side of the road have more detail than I had ever imagined. It was the strangest thing. I didn't know how bad my eyes were until I experienced how good they could be."That's the often the way it is. We don't know how much we are missing because we have messed up paradigms.
We have paradigms about ourselves, about other people, and about life in general.

Spl thanks to Sean for examples,

Dedicated to all teens,
Try to broaden your mind,

Thank You for reading,

From Hetansh a.k.a Hetu :]