Introducing myself and my journal: One Degree of Change

About Me:
I'm a psychologist and writer by training, but over the years I've "morphed" into a strategic solutions consultant who also offers writing services, as needed. I use a lot of the same skills that I learned as a psychologist-- active listening, asssessing/conceptualizing a problem, helping the client to articulate important goals, and then supporting them as they move forward. The difference is that the "problems" we tackle together involve projects and programs, not psychological issues. And the client is often an organization or individual who is trying to make the world a better place.

There's a lot of variety in my work, which I love. Sometimes I'm sitting and brainstorming with a client, sometimes I'm writing up a proposal or action plan on their behalf, sometimes I'm creating an educational workshop based on their needs. My role and degree of participation changes from one project to the next.

Last year I heard Elyse Frishman, rabbi and social advocate, talk about the impact of even "one degree of change." Based on her reading, she learned that if the space mission to send an American to the moon had been miscalculated by only one degree, the astronaughts would have missed the moon entirely. Her point? If we strive for even a small measure of change, we can experience dramatic results. She was talking about our ability to change ourselves, but the concept applies to how we relate to problems in the world as well.

It's so easy to be overwhelmed by the sheer number of things that are going wrong in our world, but I believe that each one of us can strive for effecting at least one degree of change. And if we join together, we can see big things happen.