This week’s Healthcare Experience Design (HxD) conference found at #hxd2013 brings to mind the concept of “awe” in designing for change. Stanford researchers found that awe expands people’s perception of time, alters decision making and enhances well-being. So how do we capitalize on this for health and beyond?
How many of us feel like we have too much to do and not enough
time? Times is our most valuable commodity. It’s why we don’t go to the doctor, don’t get enough sleep, skip the gym, stress out, or order out. Recognizing this issue, Stanford’s researchers asked: How can we shift people’s perception around how much time is available? The answer–give them awe.
Awe Changes Us
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8vyllPntBg
Research found that experiencing awe brings us into the present moment. It makes us think we have more time available, influences our decisions and gives us a boost in life satisfaction. Awe helps us lessen our impatience, gives us a stronger desire to help others and inspires us to partake in experiential good over materials ones.
Champion Design
The study shares two components of awe:
- Awe involves perception vastness – the sense one has come upon something immense in size, number, scope, complexity, ability, or social bearing
- Awe stimulates a need for accommodation, meaning it alters one’s understanding of the world
The takeaway? Champion design. Organizations that are top-of-mind in terms of inspiring “awe” include: MisFit Wearables, charity : water, Half the Sky, TED, Nike and TWLOHA. Heck, HxD – from its website to the event itself, inspires awe through its powerful design of content, people and presence. Yet many in the public health and social good space still under value design, especially when it comes to resource allocation. Without a champion who can translate its benefits, it’s often the first to get cut or results in an after thought.
When you think of capturing awe, what organizations or causes first come to mind?
]]>When it comes to social media and government, some do not know where to start. Thus, as my keynote at the conference, I presented: Being Empowered–Faces and Places You Need to Know. To me, being empowered is closely related to leadership. We can’t lead our organizations or our colleagues if we aren’t first leading ourselves. Hence, why we must become empowered. Being empowered means two things: being encouraged and being equipped. So, I share my presentation with you here to help you achieve both of those items. The faces will help encourage you and the places will work to better equip you.
If you have added “faces and places,” please leave them in the comments as we are all always learning.
]]>This was another first for me. I know Geoff said it with love, but no one has ever called me that, and I found myself pondering: Do I consider myself an activist? So, I let it marinate. And I came to three conclusions:
1. I do consider myself an activist. But then comes the question, what am I advocating for? I feel the answer to this question will continue to morph, evolve, and develop with time. For the longest time and presently, I am an advocate for a cure to multiple sclerosis. I’m also an advocate for my family, for human rights, for literacy and for social good. It may be cliche, but the quote, “Stand for something, otherwise you stand for nothing.”
Well, when my name is called, I want to feel confident about where I’m standing and why. This blog helps document my approach to activism as it’s deeply rooted in the belief I have in the process of social marketing and behavior change.
2. Being considered an activist is a good thing. I consider it a badge of honor. I know the word “activist” itself carries with it many ideas and immediate connotations from a variety of people, which is all great and dandy. However, what I realized was more important, was what it meant to me. I started thinking of others that I would deem “activists.” Maybe I’m just a little too on the optimistic side, but I first thought of those like Susan B. Anthony, Martin Lurther King Jr., Nelson Mandella, and my family.
You see, I feel like I come from a lineage of activists so to speak. One, my grandfather of about five generations ago was a Cherokee Indian Chief. Another super great uncle was an abolitionist with John Brown and was actually hung with him as documented in the book Man on Fire. Though I know that one is a bit extreme, there was my great-grandpa Russel who was a teacher…A teacher who lost his job because he didn’t believe in the segregation of his classroom. To carry on the torch and encourage others to join, well, to me, that’s a good thing.
3. This, inherently, implies action. The word itself carries the word “act” in it. Are there “activists” that you don’t agree with? Yes. Are there activists with bad intentions? Yes. Are there activites who use approaches you don’t agree with? Yes. But, then, if that’s the case, act on it. =) Being an activist is what you make of it.
Find your voice. Channel your purpose….and I think you’ll find that you will want to ACT on whatever you feel called or led to do more than ever. Are you with me?
(*I hesitated writing this post, because I thought the word “activist” might lend itself to be controversial. But then I thought, hey, SB readers are pretty smart folks. They’ll have some good insights to stretch me even further on this. I’m counting on it. In the meantime, thanks Geoff for the compliment!)
flickr credit: RockChalk Jayhawk, John Rover
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