By Lilly Dawson*
With the immense amount of information on the climate crisis, and on such a global scale, it can feel impossible for one person to produce a meaningful impact. In order to strengthen our individual capacity to deal with our complex environment, the Inner Development Goals (IDGs) initiative was formed. The IDG framework was created by 1000+ scientists, experts, and human resource & sustainability professionals in reaction to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which gave us a plan for a sustainable world through global action and change.
The founders of the IDGs believed that the current strategies of the SDGs were largely missing a “keen insight into which abilities, qualities or skills we need to develop among individuals, groups and organizations” in order to fulfill global goals. So, through a series of meetings with founders, researchers, and leaders of prominent institutions, a global survey was formulated to determine what personal qualities and skills are most important for working more effectively towards the SDGs.
Through this, the Inner Development Guide was formed. This guide offers a common framework for individuals, organizations, and communities to connect personal transformation to impactful global change. And who doesn’t want to become a better person while getting to say you’re helping the world? Through depicting 25 skills across five dimensions, this guide can be your starting point.
Our office has started this semester off with the theme of “Becoming You;” and in a very on-theme fashion, we welcome you to use this guide as a map for finding what hobbies and lifestyle changes can lead to a better you and greater world.
By focusing on Being, you can cultivate your internal qualities, through enhancing your knowledge and awareness of your inner life. An activity that could yield this could be meditation. By expanding your Thinking, you can deepen your understanding of the larger world around you, tuning into your creativity and unique perspective. A hobby that can deepen your systems and critical thinking, along with long-term visioning, could be journaling or creating art– of any form. By enhancing your Relating, you will grow your care for the people and the world around you, through working on your appreciation, connectedness, humility, empathy, compassion, and forgiveness. A way to continually grow in your relationship and connection with others is to attend events in your community. You can check out opportunities to engage with our community and upcoming social events on our webpage. By expanding your Collaborating skills, you will grow in your ability to work with others, through communication, cultural understanding, and forming relationships. An excellent habit to enable this behavior is to find volunteer opportunities in your community to accomplish collaborative goals. Lastly, by furthering your Acting, you can lead and enable change, through increasing your proactivity and conscious use of resources.
The IDGs continue to “identify, popularize, and support the development of relevant abilities, skills, and qualities for inner growth, through continuously supportive organizations, companies, and institutions to better address global challenges.” And now that you are a bit more familiar with these five dimensions of skills, I hope you will use this guide as the perfect starting point to help you not only become a better you, but also as a way to benefit a greater planet.
Quotes and Information on IDGs taken from The Inner Development Goals Foundation https://innerdevelopmentgoals.org/.
Lilly Dawson serves as the Marketing Specialist for our office.
