Systems Thinking

I remember playing with a toy called Pick-Up Sticks as a kid. They were a couple dozen thin plastic rods about eight inches long. The idea was to pile them all up randomly and take turns removing one stick without shifting any others. Now, I recognize that this pile of plastic rods was a system. In a system, almost every element affects almost every other element. It’s helpful to employ systems-thinking when we are trying to improve our relationships and circumstances. The most obvious example is a family. If one member of the family makes a change (say, for example, Mom starts working a night shift), it’s going to have an impact on everyone (who takes the kids to soccer while Mom is sleeping?). We can also invoke systems-thinking when we talk about our community or larger culture. In addition, we can recognize that making changes in our thinking patterns or emotions will have an effect on other parts of our personality. Watching out for how small changes to one element of a system will affect so many others is a great way to grow in all our relationships, including the ones within ourselves.