The Being Change Dividend

“Nanotechnology knowledge is doubling every two years and clinical knowledge every 18 months. But on average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months. According to IBM, the build out of the “internet of things” will lead to the doubling of knowledge every 12 hours.” – David Russell Schilling

The Being Change Dividend

I first learned of the famous physicist Buckminster Fuller and his “Knowledge Doubling Curve” about fifteen years ago while working to increase my professional skills while participating in a sales training series.  Dr. Fuller created the “Knowledge Doubling Curve” when he noticed that until 1900 human knowledge doubled approximately every century. By the end of World War II knowledge was doubling every 25 years. Today things are not as simple as different types of knowledge have different rates of growth.

For example, a few years ago when he wrote about the “knowledge curve,” David Russell Schilling, who enjoys research and writing about cutting edge technologies that hold the promise of improving conditions for all life on planet earth, said “nanotechnology knowledge is doubling every two years and clinical knowledge every 18 months. But on average human knowledge is doubling every 13 months. According to IBM, the build out of the “internet of things” will lead to the doubling of knowledge every 12 hours.” 

“When one combines this knowledge tsunami with its accompanying pace of economic, social and political change happening, seemingly everywhere, is it any wonder that many of us are simply living in an overwhelmed state of being?”  I thought to myself as I scanned news headlines over the past week.

“Swarm of earthquakes continues to rattle Soda Springs, Idaho.”  “Could three hurricanes cripple large portions of the United States?”  I was reading and wondering at the news and that’s when I had a new thought.

“It seems as if the universe is working to get our attention!”  I muttered to myself as I pondered my part in all of this.  “I’ve been thinking of myself as simply being affected by all of this change and upheaval.  What if I simply shift my view ever so slightly?  What if I use my core belief that the purpose of life is to be schooled and combine it with this ever increasing pace of change?”

Everything around us is actively participating in change, whether it, or we, want to or not.  It could be argued that you and I are being forced to change as a result of our commotional environment.  So, I asked, “Would embracing change in a proactive way alter our perception of continuous change?”  I’m not sure yet!  And, I’ve begun to embrace a new approach.

This new approach is to begin to look at our engulfing commotion and actively ask, “What can I learn from this?  How can this experience help me to become better?”  Actively asking these two simple questions has already begun to pay huge dividends.  Its what I call the “Being Change Dividend.”

The “Being Change Dividend” simply means that rather than fearing what is happening, you and I use the two simple questions in combination with naturally occurring change to increase our own personal growth!  It means we can develop ourselves into something much more powerful than with could without becoming the change!  And, that’s a good thing!