“You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” – Steve Jobs
Human beings and human minds are complex systems made up of complex systems that sit within complex systems (where complexity refers to the richness of connection and dynamics). Whilst this is true, many approaches to change work and hypnotherapy seem to ignore this entirely and instead treat human being more like simple machines or rules-bound computers.
One of the many interesting features of complex systems is that outcomes within such systems are impossible to predict with 100% accuracy because they are governed by ‘butterfly effect dynamics’, so this creates a challenge – how do we ensure that we can consistently create desirable changes within complex systems (our clients in their lives) that we cannot control?
This is where understanding principles of complex systems – such as emergence and self-organisation – and how to work with them become a significant asset in influencing and shaping true and lasting change.