What comes first, the chicken or the egg my middle school teacher asked? Hands flew up and each person called upon had a reason for their answer.
"The egg had to come first because that's how the baby chick is born," one says. "No, the chicken came first because the chicken had to hatch the egg." shouts another.
Scientist have studied this question for years and some came to the conclusion that there's evidence of amniotic eggs being in existence about 340 million or so years ago, and the first chickens popping up on the scene about 58 thousand years ago at the earliest.
https://www.science.org.au/curious/earth-environment/which-came-first-chicken-or egg#:~:text=Back%20to%20our%20original%20question,way%20before%20chickens%20even%20existed.At the end of that classroom discussion, we eagerly waited for the teacher to tell us the correct answer, only to find out that we were all right. More accurately, it didn't really matter. What mattered is that either way, it was what it was. In other words, it doesn't matter how you got here, you're here.
In the nonprofit industry or social sector, we often have to remind ourselves that it doesn't matter how a person got to your services, or whose fault it is that they landed in prison, or as a pregnant teenager, or lacking a job, homeless or hungry. What matters is what happens next.
To make an impact in the service of others, one must make a decision to be curious. This requires us to restrict thoughts of judgement. When we make a judgement about how or why someone is in need, thoughts of what they can handle or deserve creeps in.
Throughout our communities, and around the world, we see images of how people are living, whether they are thriving or barely surviving. We hear their stores of struggle and abundance. No matter the story, we all have a tendency to fill in the blanks with our thoughts of empathy or judgement,
I urge you to spend some time, being curious and open to the thought that it doesn't matter how a person got to your organization in need of help, all that matters is that you, your team, your program and services can help them to make their next BEST step.
If you want to connect with me on providing consultations, coaching or speaking at your event reach out to me on LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimberly-lewis-ba93623b/) or check out my website: https://www.motivationalmuse.com/.
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