Are you part of the problem? — Fail Spectacularly! (SM)

What if, just by doing your job every day, you were part of the problem?

It’s not as far fetched as it seems.

What if, by following the rules and chasing the carrots held out for you, you contributed to a problem that was both catastrophic in scale and long-term in scope?

How would you feel?

Could you change?

I bet you think you could. I bet you think you’d be part of that small minority that speaks up against the odds.

But the science suggests otherwise. It always has.

Because here’s the kicker: the reason you were part of the problem is because every time you come close to taking action, your brain farts out. Ever walk into a grocery store to buy one item and then forget why you were there once you started walking through the aisles? It’s like that: you’re smart and brave while reading the news, but as soon as you get to work, poof. You become a drone. You chase the easy dollar.

It doesn’t matter what gender you are, how much you earn, or how educated you are; if you’re human, then more than likely, when it comes time to act out, you choke.

Don’t believe me? Consider the following examples:

It’s 2008 and you work in the financial industry. Chasing the carrots legally provided for you (and following them into the uncharted territory of credit default swaps) leads to the greatest financial disaster in three generations. Though you understand something painful has happened, when it comes time to decide how to respond, you find you feel vilified by a public that doesn’t understand your incentives and you argue in favor of the status quo. “The system” may be broken, but your faith in yourself translates into not wanting outsiders regulating you from afar.

It’s 2010 and you work in the oil industry. Doing your job of balancing safety and cost concerns (and applying those considerations to the uncharted territory of deep sea drilling) leads to the greatest environmental disaster in American history. Though you understand something painful has happened, when it comes time to decide how to respond, you find you feel vilified by a public that doesn’t understand the pressure you work under and you argue in favor of the status quo. “The system” may be broken, but your faith in yourself translates into not wanting outsiders regulating you from afar.

It’s 2012 and you work in the food manufacturing industry. Doing your job of creating cheap, nutritious foods (and applying those considerations to the uncharted territory of genetic modifications) leads to the greatest allergy epidemic in world history. Though you understand something painful has happened, when it comes time to decide how to respond, you find you feel vilified by a public that doesn’t understand the good you were trying to do and you argue in favor of the status quo. “The system” may be broken, but your faith in yourself translates into not wanting outsiders regulating you from afar.

It’s today and you work in your industry. You know it’s imperfect. You know there are real costs to the way you do business. You also know that your imperfect job pays your bills and keeps you fed and sends your kids to college.

So you read the news and agree that “something should change,” but then you hop in your car, drive to work, and your brain farts out. You get into the office and do… nothing out of the ordinary. You make no waves, take no risks, challenge no decisions. You change no habits. When you get the chance to speak up, you don’t take it. When you see an executive in the hall, you look away. When you have a group of coworkers together, you commiserate about how disenfranchised you are.

You take no stake.

One day, when one of those little imperfections you overlook every day blows up into something big, you know what you’ll do? You’ll feel vilified by all the people passing judgment on you, and you’ll argue for the status quo, telling the outsiders that they don’t understand your job as well as you do and can’t possibly know how to fix the problem.

So, yeah, if you haven’t had the chance already, you will be part of the problem. It’s just a matter of time.

That’s the bad news.

The good news is, you can change your destiny, and all it takes is all the courage you have plus a little bit more on top of that.

I might be able to help you with that last part. More on Monday.