We need to be given back the right to define progress for oursevles, for our communities

Is it hard for you to frame progress in your own life? It surely is for me. Sometimes, I don't know what type of progress I want or need. I can progress on learning how to draw or write or do the "job-market thing." overall, I am completely lonely in making these decisions because I only define progress within the lonely confinement of my room - by myself. Because all institutions around me already have defined how they want to measure my progress. It is alienating. It deprives us of the practice of tuning into our soul. The thing that seeks to grow into something bigger. This is a real transformation, and it requires getting in touch with ourselves, and we NEED progress in our relationships for self-actualization. So yes, how we define progress matters. I say we should get our rights back to define progress for ourselves, for our communities, and for our cities.

In an educational setting, this looks like this: we should be asked how we want to be assessed. We should set our own goals. This will help us learn how to work with ourselves and hold ourselves accountable. I can choose to be graded for creating at least 4 illustrations this semester. I want to have one community org connection at the end of the program. Hold me accountable! Give me a reason to think hard about the goals I make.

Why should we set our own goals? Once we finish this totally unimportant grading with this random institution, we will have to decide BY OURSELVES, only on our OWN, what progress means to us. No-one will help us or tell us how we will be graded. So why shouldn't we PRACTICE how to reflect on progress in our lives? I am dead-serious when I say:

I accuse the University of messing up our lives by restricting our agency to practice taking ownership over our lives.

**No one will tell you what to do after you leave the school. Chances are that the grading helped you very little to understand what you truly need to progress in your life. **

--> we need to learn how to work with ourselves to be able to work with others and in larger systems. More on this in SPIRIT-WORK-A.

#op-ed #bubble-upload