Effectivity
Every Action is an Interaction
The fracturing of traditional family and social networks can make us feel independent, self contained and alone. The increased connectivity and contact-ability that we experience online, makes us aware that every action that we make actually involves other people. What do we do with this apparent paradox?
Our Western world seems to be heading further down the road of individualism and self actualization every day. We believe that we are in control of our own destiny and we know that we hold the power to shape our futures. While this is true, it must be held in balance with the knowledge that all of our lives are interconnected.
If we focus only on our own actions then we are heading down a long lonely road to disappointment. The reality of life in our world is that every time we act, there are others involved, turning our action into an interaction. Missing this point has been the down fall of individuals and organisations throughout history but never so much as today.
If we see an action that is truly effective, a closer look will show us a stream of important interactions. Test this out. Take any example of an important action and look for the interactions that occur before, during, or after, that bring power, meaning or fulfillment to the situation. If you look hard enough, you will find that an effective action is always surrounded by vital interactions.
The effective people in our world instinctively know that they are always interacting with real people, whether it is obvious or not. They are able to see these links and maximise the mutual benefits of the interaction no matter who is involved.
The ineffective people in our world seek to make short term gains by acting without thinking of the others involved. They believe that they can succeed at the expense of others. Take the example of most online money making schemes. No doubt you will have received many propositions from people who would love to help you make “Big Bucks Online”. While I am sure there are a few reputable companies that get mixed up in this group of scams, the majority are based on one sided - Action only - thinking. The focus is all on what you do, what you will receive, what you will spend it on. In most cases there is a total disregard for the other people that you will inevitably interact with along the way. Your product, your message or whatever you seek to distribute to the world will be accepted or rejected by real people. Even if you are doing business online, there are genuine, thinking, breathing people behind these interactions. If you create or perpetuate a scam then it will be real people who will be scammed. If you spread pipe dreams or lies then real people will get hurt or disillusioned as a result of your actions. This is no way to live an effective life. Exploiting others will harm them, harm the medium, harm your peers and eventually harm yourself.
It becomes obvious, then, what we have to do. Look for the signs of real people in all of our actions. A person assembled the PC that you are reading from. A person runs the ISP that enables you to read this. Real people around the world are reading this article at exactly the same time as you. And believe me, a real person is writing this for you. Temporarily forget about statistics, URLs, Page views, minutes, brands and every other construct that obscures the faces of real people and you will see millions of interactions in your life that you never saw before. If you are able to connect with just a few of these people - people that you are already interacting with - in an uncommon and particularly human way, then you will be on the road towards making a positive impact in the world around you.
The other option is to treat the world like a toolbox that you can use for your own purposes, and that is all it will ever be for you. The choice is yours.
Think of a situation when recognising that an action is actually an interaction, will help you to be more effective tomorrow. Then write it in the comment box here for us all to see.
Thanks
Tom
Photo credit:DSC_0404.JPG by Riccardos on Flickr
Discussion
6 comments for “Every Action is an Interaction”
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I think driving is one of the greatest examples of people misunderstanding action vs interaction. Once people get behind the wheel of 2000 lbs of steel, they seem to forget that the other rolling cages are filled with people as well.
Road rage is growing to epidemic proportions because we don’t treat driving as an interaction with other people, but as simple transportation from A to B. Those other things on the road just get in the way of us getting to where we need to be. In reality, if we all handled driving with an eye to the needs of all people on the road, it would be a much more civil highway.
Hi Tom,
For me here in Thailand it’s funny because the Thai people LOVE to see foreigners - at least in certain sections of the country and they are always hoping you’ll interact with them in some small way because it makes their day when you do. EVERY time there is someone within sight you have an opportunity to interact with them if you make the effort.
Being a foreigner here it’s easy to make the effort because it rarely goes unrewarded. Now that I can speak Thai I have a blast interacting with strangers, usually with jokes that don’t always go across exactly as they should… but you know, it’s making life fun.
Same in Japan or different?
@Vern
I wrote a little perl script that takes the OPML file exported from Google Reader and creates a list of html links. When I get home later, I can email it to you. That’s how I created my list and posted it on my website.
Ha! Quint, how cool is THAT? Thanks man, much appreciated. Hope I don’t break the site with my list of links…
When I go shopping, I make a point on noticing the cashier’s name, or the stockboy’s name and ask “How’s Dianne today?” or “how’s Bob doing?” Thse actions I believe will turn into a reaction as they pass on a little “humanity” to someone else.
Hi Doug
That is an excellent example of putting the “interaction mindset” into action. I expect that you make a big difference by noticing that the others are involved in these situations. Thanks for sharing that with us.
Thanks
Tom