Just what is a paradigm? And how did a page on the definition of paradigm find its way onto a sheep ranching site?
There is no succinct manner for a paradigm to be defined. They fluctuate with each individual because they are based on assumptions of how our world operates. How our world operates will vary based on how each of us were taught to view it.
If you collected all of your beliefs, habits, attitudes, theories, fears, cliches, feelings of self worth and unwritten cultural and societal standards and stuffed them into a bucket you could pluck thousands of paradigms from that bucket.
The prevalent attitude that agriculture is a struggling do without lifestyle; that there is no hope to make a living from it, is an example of an organizational paradigm.
If you were to give some attention to the collection you stuffed into your bucket you would determine which paradigms reign in your life. These are basic core assumptions that are undetected or unconscious, yet are pivotal in determining how we operate and make decisions. The catch is few people give it any thought. The reality is - giving it some thought is the only sure way to influence it.
The weak link in this whole concept is that it only takes the concentrated effort of one individual in order to affect a difference. You don't have to let ill-founded assumptions decree how successful you are. And you don't have to be concerned with mastering the answer to the question, 'what is a paradigm?' But you need to realize that you can't affect a difference while holding on to the same assumptions, beliefs and habits that put you where you are. You must be prepared to shift.
There is an organizational paradigm shift happening in agriculture. Those in farming and ranching today are realizing the previous generations work harder ethic no longer suffices. The reality of working too hard for the gain has struck home. The fact that numerous farmers and ranchers across the country have reached this point is one of the afflictions of agriculture, as many have opted to leave the industry altogether. Amongst those who remain is a great need for tapping into potential.
Future farms and ranches need to grow from an effort to be individuals whose first goal is examining themselves and their paradigms instead of blindly following the push of the masses.
Or to put it another way - people who are willing to shift their thinking and ask, not only, what is a paradigm but what is my paradigm? For only then can we apply ourselves fully to our passion of ranching. From this will come a tremendous sense of self, self power and success for individuals and for our industry.
