James Clear shared scientist Marie Curie’s quote on the importance of self-improvement.

“You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement, and at the same time share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful.”

Source: Pierre Curie

Without question, individual improvement is necessary, however self-improvement is insufficient. As we all know, we are interconnected in so many way that we are really all part of one large organism that forms life on earth. Improving just ourselves without understanding how it impacts others can damage the whole system.

W. Edwards Deming demonstrated over and over again that if any department attempts to be the most profitable without considering the impact its actions have on the whole organization, it can destroy the organization. Even if it does become very profitable…an example of

     The operation was a success, but the patient died.

Our goal must be to simultaneously improve ourselves in ways that also positively contribute to  society. A system works better by finding ways for the interactions between its parts to work better. From this perspective then, the best way to improve overall is to improve how the parts work together, or our interactions with everyone and everything.

As James Lovelock explains in his scientific papers and in his Gaia Hypothesis, our interactions with earth must help it thrive, for us to thrive. If we create interactions that are beneficial to us and the planet, both do better and we co-evolve into a better way of being. If interactions are only beneficial to us and not to the planet, as is the current condition, we will cause environmental and human bankruptcy. I think we know what that means (i.e. earth takes an evolutionary trip without us).

We must develop interactions that provide Selfish, Selfless, Synergy to generate comprehensive improvements by creating pervasive, reciprocal, selfish, selfless, synergistic interactions so everyone and everything benefits. #SelfishSelflessSynergy This means our daily aim, rather than how can I improve just myself can be, “How can I make my contribution today?” because this will create interactions from which everyone and everything benefits.

Quick examples of how to make contributions:

1. Eat More Plants
2. Bike or walk
3. Plant a garden
4. Learn how things are interconnected
5. Help others
6. Contribute to collective intelligence

Each of these actions are helpful because they are ways to generate comprehensive improvements by practicing paneugenesis. Collective intelligence can result from practicing paneugenesis.

Collective intelligence, as described by Geoff Mulligan in his book, “Big Mind: How Collective Intelligence Can Change Our World“, is the result of the ability to link observation, analysis, creativity, memory, judgement and wisdom in a way that is much more than the sum of its parts. Collective intelligence can only result from better collaborative interactions. This means collective intelligence is synergy such that it improves the ability to predict and improve (though he suggests prevent). Prevention is just less bad, not more good. Collective Intelligence can generate  More Good, Not Just Less Bad. More good being generated results by creating better interactions between man and machine, not just man but Man + Machine (see Will AI or Man be the Last Standing?)

Please promote and share how you contribute to collective intelligence and then are able to generate comprehensive improvements that make your and our lives better! We all look forward to hearing from you. Please share to generate collective intelligence…

Be Well’r,