As we approach the nal class of this semester, I am feeling slightly con icted about this

course coming to an end. On one hand, I am happy with how far I’ve come since the beginning
of the semester and am proud that I made it through relatively unscathed, but on the other
hand, I am a little reluctant to leave this course behind because I know I will miss the freedom
for exploration that this course a orded us. That being said, I don’t think I will ever be able to
fully revert to strictly linear thought, and I do not intend to. This course has provided me with a
set of tools to approach problems di erently, ask better questions and empathize more deeply
with the people involved. I think developing a deeper sense of empathy for people I don’t know
personally stems from the realization and understanding that no one acts in a vacuum. People
are constantly dealing with opposing pressures and incentives that may not be aligned in a way
that encourages the best outcome. Instead of placing blame on the shoulders of the individual
actor, the systems thinking approach has taught me to dig a little deeper and try to understand
their actions in the context of the system they are a part of. I noticed my mindset shift in this
way during the course of working on our Sysco project. When I rst came across the fact that a
signi cant number of prime-age men had been dropping out of the labour force over the
course of the last few decades, my immediate reaction was to blame them for being overly
entitled, lazy and even sel sh. However, by staying with the problem and looking deeper at the
behaviour of the system, I was able to see how the system is failing these men. I was then able
to empathize with them by taking their perspective and imagining myself in their
circumstances. In my research I also came across several studies that showed that the areas
with the highest non-participation rates also had the highest levels of opioid prescriptions and
disability claims. Though our project did not deal directly with this issue, it was remarkable to
me to stumble across new nodes of the opioid crisis I hadn’t realized were there, especially
having just nished working on the opioid mapping assignment. This discovery really put into
perspective how vast and truly wicked this problem is and how di cult it will be to tackle. To
this point, another key learning for me is to avoid letting myself get overwhelmed by the
complexity of a problem, which can lead to a pattern of defeatist thinking that creates false
impossibilities and discourages us from attempting to nd solutions. Instead of focusing my
thoughts on how many people are su ering and how impossible it will be to x the system, I
found a helpful way to reframe my thinking is to imagine all the people who are eager to nd a
solution to the problem, and would be willing to work collaboratively towards creating a better
future.

To put these key takeaways into practice, I intend to apply systems thinking in my career by
actively seeking out opportunities to collaborate with potential allies across disciplines, even
those who may not realize they have an interest in getting involved. In this way, systems
thinking has made me more strategic in my approach to problem solving and has provided me
with the tools to persuade people to examine their own place in the system and to become a
coalition builder in future projects. Moreover, this course has expanded my horizons by
emphasizing the importance of working collaboratively on an ongoing basis, being adaptable
to change, and fostering resilience in the face of setbacks. It has also taught me the
importance of taking the time to foster relationships with diverse stakeholders, and practicing
deep listening to ensure I truly understand the perspectives of others before taking any action. I
will try to continue to be self-re ective and mindful of my impact on the system, while also
continuing to seek feedback from my colleagues and friends to ensure I continue learning and
growing as a systems thinker. After all, this is only the beginning of my systems thinking
journey!

PS. Thanks for a great semester, Mazi and Valen!!

fi
fi
fi
fi
fl
ff
ff
ff
fi
fi
ffi
fl
fi
fi