Our worldview casts a shadow in the words that resonate

One reason it's difficult to understand each other is that behind the words we use are the worldviews, the emotions and the beliefs we have before we even consider what's being said.

Before we get to right and wrong, good or bad, effective or ineffective, we begin with worldview. 

They affect the way we choose a car, engage in a conversation or vote. These cultural and learned worldviews alter the way we see and hear and speak.

Words like: Fairness, change, interference, freedom, responsibility and opportunity trigger different reactions based on worldview. It's always easier to encourage action based on an existing worldview than it is to change that view.

The columns below don't line up for everyone (or anyone), but instead highlight different instincts on different axes on how each of us see the world in any given moment...

An all-powerful authority
Treat others as you'd

want to be treated


Confidence, results,

right now, right later
Exploration, truth, working toward perfect, always a little wrong


Self-respect,

power, agency, taking space
Role awareness, dignity,

giving space, flexibility


Deserve, entitled, keep
Share, distribute, invest


Effects
Side effects


Ends and means
Means and ends


Getting things done
Listening, speaking up

and being heard


Patriotism, nationalism,

the homeland
Community, ecology,

the system


Power, authority, compliance, respect, status
Fairness, hope, justice,

connection, healing


Profit-seeking
Public utility


Intuitive
Informed


Realism, denial
Optimism, pessimism


Rewards, incentives,

victory, spoils
Equity, fairness and

the alleviation of suffering


Urgency, triumph,

security, impulse
Self control,

long-term thinking, wisdom


Vengeance
Forgiveness


Zero-sum
Win-win

Once we understand the landscape that someone sees, we have an easier time using words and images to fill in that landscape, to create a story that they can hear and understand, and, perhaps, we can make change happen.