Personal, social and political transformation are interconnected. Yes, ‘the personal is political’.

As a psychologist with a passion for the state of the world I’m glad to see that more and more research shows that personal wellbeing, awareness and development are intimately connected with social and political change. It doesn’t have to be either “retreating within” or “saving the world syndrome” until I  burnout.

A recent article on the shortcomings of ‘voluntourism’ nailed it: personal development and global development are entirely linked! 

But we know that ongoing learning, organizational resilience, staff support, coaching and mentoring are not high on the agenda of organizations that feel constantly under-budget and onto the next emergency. Neither does self-care and self-awareness seem to matter while one is on a mission to relieve suffering. But they do matter!

Taking time to reflect is not a waste, because changing the world truly starts from within.

Before you hop on to check you Facebook account I suggest you take a minute to watch this video on the interconnection between personal and global development.

Have a nice day!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-oZq3OMgRLU]

“We work on ourselves in order to help others, but also we help others in order to work on ourselves.”

– Pema Chödrön