Diversity
Is a State of Mind
While
diversity is often defined by cultural, racial, gender,
religious, or social differences, there is certainly
much more that we share in common than what might divide
us. May we resist the temptation to focus so
intensely on the outward, physical differences of another
that we create a “great divide” with an
untamed imagination.
Since it is human
nature to reject what we don’t know and understand,
the best way to increase tolerance and embrace diversity
is to immerse ourselves into the world of others with
an open mind and loving heart. Awareness
of differences must not be used as a defense to maintain
ignorance or shortcomings. For example,
when John Gray presented the differences of women and
men in Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus,
for some the war between the sexes intensified as each
defended his or her behavior as if prisoners of their
gender and without conscious choice.
Likewise,
because the brain tends to draw conclusions based on association
and selective attention, it becomes a quick and easy mental
shortcut to assign certain behaviors with visible, physical
qualities. (I guess that means that if you
color your hair blonde, you experience an instant brain
drain.) Our beliefs and preconceived notions affect what
we see and how we see things, with those perceptions becoming
our self-proclaimed reality that we so we vehemently defend
as universal truth.
Being active
in sports, scuba diving, and driving motorcycles, I have
always been somewhat of a tomboy and thus have always
been more like one of the guys. In fact, I vividly
remember playing football in my Pendleton sewn-down pleated
skirt. In my travels I have frequently felt more
connected to people in other cultures more than my own.
My point is that more than gender, color, culture, or
creed, it is how we are “hardwired” and our
unique thinking style that establishes true diversity.
There are four basic thinking styles, often simplified
as right brain or left brain, that determine our core
differences, where with the delicate dance of intriguing
interdependence, we discover that the whole is always
greater than the sum of its parts.
Whether you are a right-brain visionary or communicator,
or a left-brain analyzer or organizer, none of us is as
smart as all of us. Opposites do attract to each other
because of the strength, support, and power created by
walking side by side.
 With
the recent loss of Coretta Scott King, certainly the words
of her husband Martin Luther King reflect the vision (not
the division) of diversity when he said, “With
this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords
of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood.
With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray
together, to struggle together, to stand up for freedom
together, knowing that we will be free one day …
Free at last!” The true enemy is
not that person we label, reject, and resent, but rather
it is our own ignorance to the truth that united we stand—divided
we fall.
Terrorism is the
result of an intolerance of differences. Unfortunately,
most of those differences are due to a lack of understanding,
false beliefs, and misperceptions. The fact is more often
than not we all speak the same language, but stumble on
misinterpretations and then violently act out and defend
our ignorance. With the Triangle becoming a more
culturally diverse environment, we need to embrace change
and celebrate the unique strengths and talents that diversity
provides to create a more vibrant mosaic of humanity.
Even
when people do speak the same language, most of the time
they don’t. We experience
the world around us through mental filters. Most people
assume they are seeing the world the way it really is. Everything
that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding
about ourselves, and nothing about ourselves can be changed
until it is first accepted. We cannot extend
understanding, love, and compassion to others until we first
come to know, understand, and accept ourselves. Walter Lippmann,
noted journalist and political commentator, reflected the
essence of diversity: “Where all think alike, no one
thinks very much.”
Gray,
John. Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus: A Practical
Guide for Improving Communication and Getting What You Want
in Your Relationships. New York: HarperCollins, 1993. |
Edie
Raether, MS, CSP, is an expert on sales performance and marketing trends.
As an international keynote speaker, sales coach and corporate trainer,
she has inspired over 3,000 professional associations and Fortune 500
companies, as well as the National Association of Realtors. She has also
been an NC licensed realtor, and a expert resource to hundreds of publications
such as The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and Selling Power.
