Superpowers in a World of Wonder with Monica Parker

Tonya Dawn Recla:

We’re glad that you’re here. Monica Parker is amongst many, many, many other things the author of The Power of Wonder, and her walk and her brilliance if you go to Monica-Parker.com, you’ll have that on our episode sheet over SuperPowerExperts.com. And you’ll see this beautiful world of introductions invitation to say, you know, maybe things look a little bit differently, right? Sounds kind of familiar to the superpower concept of this lens wonder Right? Like, like magic like, like what’s happening? What can we look at that can intrigue us? What can excite us, right? That’s what it felt like, to me. That’s what lit up to me. And you get to go have that experience for yourself. Because Monica has opened this beautiful doorway in this invitation to perceive the world through this lens of wonder. And so we’re gonna dive into that today as superpowers in the world of wonder with Monica Parker. But first, we’re gonna ask her, what are your superpowers? And how are you using them for good?

Monica Parker:

Well, I mean, humans are humans. So absolutely, there’s no question. You know, we all have the same drives and desires at the end of the day. One of the things that I found and why I decided to do this research was, I really wanted to understand how people manage change, big existential change things like you know, being happy being executed at the hands of the state, or having I worked with parents who had disabled children and sort of managing that change in expectations about what their childhood would be. And what I found was that people who held their world with a sense of wonder were really more buoyant, they’re more resilient and able to handle what life throws at them. And so that was why I wanted to explore it.

Tonya Dawn Recla:

Very fascinating. I had a similar curiosity, I was working in an Alzheimer’s unit, and I was really curious about how families were managing change, right, as you would say, change me it was the transition and allowing their loved one to sort of become this new person. And this is exactly the same lens that I saw was those who were able to go with the flow essentially and allow for that person to change and reimagine the relationship at every stage dealt with it so much differently than those who had an idea of how mom or dad or whoever the relationship is, was supposed to be similar to your example with children and, and we pulled that I mean, really rooted it from Carol Dweck, work and mindset of, of growth versus fixed, you know, experience basically experiential, you know, the mindset of like, things happen, and we have these experiences versus if something happens to me, it threatens my very identity of who I am. And I believe that that’s the cost when COVID started and a lot of folks have asked us you know, what is this what’s going on, edited it and it’s like, you know, what I’m seeing truthfully is a real big divide between the cans and they cannot. And what I mean by that the cans are the ones who know how to get that to call them know how to hold themselves in wholeness know how to look at the world through lenses of adaptability and flexibility, who have been through some pitfalls, and have been through some things and how of the programs that give them the confidence to do it. Whereas those who typically looked externally for such programs, their worlds really shook right now, because the world shook right now. And when we identify ourselves with things outside of ourselves, then that’s the hazard. And so I love that your work really speaks to that. And it’s a solution. It’s an easy solution, just like when we say, hey, maybe we are actually better than we think we are bigger than we are, maybe we can be kinder or more loving, you know, just when we even entertain that notion, it breaks the pattern of we’re less than, and wonderment and play are sort of programmed into us at the beginning if we allow it to flourish. How is it being received? Right? You take this into some really challenging environments to build places where change, right isn’t welcomed, right? It’s not fun. It’s not the change that’s happening isn’t comfortable? How is the concept of wonder being received in those spaces?

Monica Parker:

I think it’s it’s a mixed bag. I think one of the things that makes it better received is when people sent are able to understand the amount of science that is behind it, you know, I really set out to, to create something that was not Whoo. And what I’ve found is that once people are reassured that this is not about philosophy, and it’s not about something that is, is intangible, that it’s something very concrete, and achievable. And based on science, then I think people start to open up. But obviously, there are some, especially in the corporate sphere, who may say, I’m not sure about this, but we are recognizing the need for soft skills in the workplace. We’re recognizing the need for empathy, humility and honesty, and ethics, and all of that we see lots of people behaving badly. And so I think that there is an emerging openness to the topic.

Tonya Dawn Recla:

Yeah, it’s really timely. We saw a lot of the same stuff I was reflecting on as you’re speaking on when I was teaching at the counter Intel Intel course. And they came and they wanted a critical thinking class like it was. It’s these moments of timeliness. Right? And my response to them was like, I’m not sure you do want that, because actually said no, because it’s antithetical to the rank structure, right? And I think that’s sort of what we’re at right now is like, we’re looking for things that are antithetical to the former structures, and we’re ready to receive them because those structures failed us. And so the readiness of a population of consciousness of humanity is also really powerful at this point in time. And I think there’s a real timeliness to us suggesting Are we ready to try something different? Like, are we ready to attempt, maybe even something that before might have seemed a little fanciful, but has been present to us all along. And I do see a real readiness in the world for people are very tired of feeling afraid. And many are reporting that this is the ticket app, right? Creativity, wonder, remembering who we are turning around, and looking at our own fears. And just facing them like this is the solid, foundational scientific approach that we’ve been looking for. And it’s really fascinating to see how it’s unfolding for all of us. So we’re gonna dive into the connection between wonder and superpowers when we come back from the break. Monica, we’ve shared people then go to Monica diet dash parker.com. Where else can we send people to find out more about you?

Monica Parker:

Yeah, absolutely. They can find me on social at Monica Parker, and that’s in on Twitter and Instagram you can also sign up for my newsletter, which you can stay in touch with me that way.

Tonya Dawn Recla:

Brilliant, well, awesome. And make sure to get over to Superpowerexperts.com. If you want to take the next step in turning your lifetime journey into the journey of a lifetime. We welcome you over there with lots of really great resources. We’ll be right back after the break. We’re talking all about superpowers in The World of Wonder, with Monica Parker, stay tuned.

For the best listening experience, download the Superpower Network App