How we impact each other

The phrase, “No man’s an island” has been attributed to many sources. However, the message is clear. As a human race, each and every one of us impacts countless others. Or as one of my NLP teachers once said, “You never know how far a change will go.” Both statements are extremely impactful once we consider the impact that we have on others and them on us.

As a human being, we play one of two roles. Either we are entraining to the emotions, attitudes, and values of others or we are a pacesetter who is shaping those around us. Although we are most likely often participating in both, for my purposes here, let’s assume that we are one or the other.

The fact is that most of our life is spent entraining to others. At the most extreme level, we could call this a victim mentality. However, we feel an inherent need to harmonize with others. This is further supported by the concept of mirror neurons, which cause us to experience the intentions of others. Conversely, should we insist on being a pacesetter, we must be prepared at least for awhile march to the beat of our own drummer. Even though transformational practitioners must show empathy, our successes rely mostly on the ability for others to entrain to our rhythm.
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