What upsets you about the world?

Photo Credit: Johnny Miller/Millefoto

Recently I was asked, "What burns you up about the world? What makes you upset about the way the world works?". After searching within myself for a moment, it was clear what upset me the most - it is how the odds of living a successful life or otherwise are stacked for or against every human born in the world today. We'd find that the common saying, "your destiny is in your hands" is quite disconnected from reality if we considered that the most critical success factors for our lives are handed to us without our input. Here's an excerpt from the response I gave when asked:

"I am upset that the future of every child born today is mostly already decided at birth. The odds of living a happy and healthy life are stacked for or against every new born child based on factors surrounding their birth, like geography, gender and social class, which are out of their control. A boy born in the Upper East Side of New York City to Wall Street banker parents is far more likely to live to his 21^st birthday, graduate college and own property in his lifetime. The odds of the same outcome are dramatically less for a girl born in a Turkish Syrian refugee camp to displaced parents. I want to live in a world where every child has access to a safe and healthy living environment, quality education and health care, regardless of geography, gender or social class."

This begs the question, "What can we do as a global community to ensure that every human born in our world gets a fair shot at a successful, healthy life, regardless of geography, gender or social class?" I'm in no delusion about the complexity and intricacy of building such a world, but I think it's possible.

If one thing is clear, it's that our current social, political, economic, familial and religious orders are failing. Now I'm not saying that there's anything we can do to change our gender, geography, or social class if only we are consulted before birth, but I believe that those of us who are here have a responsibility to neutralize the effects of these factors (geography, gender and social class aren't the only factors affecting each individual's shot at a successful and healthy life, there are several others like race, physical and cognitive ability. My focus is on these 3 because, by my observation they carry the most weight)  for those coming behind us.

Tell me, what upsets you about the world? Comment down below ⬇

PS: If you haven't already, you should read the book Outliers. It offers a very interesting perspective of what makes for success. While I believe the 10,000 hour rule is a valid strategy for becoming successful at almost anything, I also believe that before we get there, there are more fundamental questions we should ask , "Can we create sweeping systemic change that helps replicate the fundamental factors that create outliers, so that every child can be one?" perhaps these kinds of questions will lead us to a new world where we have much less to be upset about.