What problem do you want to solve in the world around you? If you had a magic wand, what would you make better?
This is the key question for developing positive meaning and drive in our lives. It lies at the heart of values-driven businesses that want to change the lives of people they serve for the better. And it unlocks the door for our own sense of “passion“, “meaning”, and “purpose“. When we use these abstract (and often stressful sounding) words, this is what we mean.
The change our desire draws us towards. For ourselves, for those we care about, and for the wider world.
We’re going to spend some time thinking about this in the fourth part of the Serenity in the Trenches series.

Highly Sensitive Radars
As highly sensitive people, we are wired to be the lookouts, the philosophers, the prophets. Those who can sense the dangers, risks, and consequences, before they have done their damage. In this sense we are wired to inspire change in the world. To identify problems before they become problems, so that as a collective we can put our best foot forward.
Highly sensitive people may sense very subtle shifts in the environment, and are affected by the moods of other people. They are more sensitive to sounds, noises, and bright lights, which can lead to unpleasant arousal when lots is going on around them. Overstimulation from the outside world can have a frazzling effect on their nervous systems.
We’ve normalised a high speed, instant access, and get it done yesterday flow to life. A pace that shows little regard for slowing down, taking heed, or raising awareness of the ‘warning signals’ from impending dangers. Such a world can feel hostile for highly sensitive people, who process this important sensory information deeply. These are the people who know the cliff edge is there before the rest of us go hurtling off it.
This noisy, busy, fast-paced society doesn’t value the necessary and important gifts brought by the highly sensitive in our midst. We’d do well to bring them back to the forefront.
The Law of the Instrument
“I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” – Abraham Maslow
The ‘law of the instrument‘ plays its part in our modern world. We use the same thinking to approach the complex, nuanced, full-of-grey challenges around us. We celebrate aggression, believe that loudness (and repetition) is effectiveness, equate rudeness with courage, and give way to a bulldozer style of leadership. This might give the perception of momentum, but usually leaves more long term destruction and collateral damage in its wake.
If this is what ‘strong leadership’ looks like, then that is the weapon/tool we will use in relation to every challenge we face. Blindly following brazen action over reflection. Insensitivity over compassion. And the drift of reactionary windswept momentum, instead of a meaningful considered path that has been intentionally selected as the best way forward.
You can’t build a house with a bulldozer.
Things feel broken, painful, and chaotic. We cannot escape this truth. But wherever there are struggles, we always find pathways to potential meaning and connection. As humans we are wired to contribute, to serve, and to engage in the hive. Not to simply sit on the sidelines and shake our heads at the state of things.
A Dream Of Restoration
And I dream of a world where the balance of sensitivity is restored. In fact, we should all dream of such a place.