Creating Change (by Adam Goodwin)

Creating Change

by Adam Goodwin | 2015 | Last Updated: May 31, 2015

Change and Sport

Many suggest that sport can change the world.

Nelson Mandela used sport to try and unite South Africa, as was highlighted in the movie, Invictus.

Peter Norman, through his involvement in the events during the Mexico City 1968 Summer Olympic Games, helped bring attention to racial issues, as highlighted in the documentary, Salute.

Branch Rickey signed and played Jackie Robinson, the first black player in major league baseball (since the 1800s). This act helped change segregation in the United States.

How

How does change happen? It is a complex issue. There are many personal, social, environmental, and traditional norms and factors that can form a part of the success of change.

There are some suggestions as to what can help lead to successful change.

Norms

One of the big things that can help lead to change is the challenging of the behaviours and actions of individuals.

However, one must go to the next level.

The next level includes challenging how people view the new action/behaviour. In other words, it is not just enough to get people to change their behaviour. There also must be changes in how people view what the norm within the society.

How do you move society a level up?

First thing you have to do is, perhaps, to look at yourself first.

Myself

And that is just what I have done. Is to look at myself. Have I made errors in my past? Yes, absolutely. I will never forget the time that I wrote in my highschool yearbook that I only played sports because of girls (paraphrasing). At the time it was intended to be an inside joke that most/all of my friends were girls and that in my senior year the only time I socialized with others was during sports. As a shy introvert, I have never been hugely social and in my last year of high school basically played sports and went home to do homework and do further physical training. Otherwise, I did not socialize outside of sports or school a whole lot besides likely a few grad events here and there.  However, as someone pointed out, as with many inside jokes it could come across as a comment that those who are not aware I identify as a member of the LGBTQ community or really only socialized during school and sports (and my high school girlfriend), the comment could be misinterpreted.

So the change I want to make is to be more open with how I identify so that it can encourage others to be more open; and to be careful with making intellectual comments. These can come back to be misinterpreted, mis-analyzed, or mis-used if someone was trying to be disingenuous with my comments.

Your Call to Action

Comment below or comment on social media about one of your strongest memories of helping stimulate change!

Further Reading

Based on your reading of this blog post, you may also be interested in: Fortius (Stronger).

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These are one person’s thoughts and opinions.  We welcome your feedback and own thoughts. Feel free to comment below or connect with us via social media.

Adam Goodwin is a Canadian who has lived and worked in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and North America, who is currently attending one of the world’s best sport management programs at the University of Windsor.  He is a proud introvert and silent leader.  He has traveled to 50 major global cities around the world, and has worked with universities, non-profits, consulting firms, and sport organizations.  He has family and friends around the world.  Follow his travels, work, projects, and thoughts on Twitter (@adam13goodwin) and on this blog (click on the bottom right-hand corner to sign up for weekly email notifications).