“How am I and how do I change the world?”

Recently a friend told me about a workshop (called “How am I and how do I change the world?”) at the Hub Winter School in Sao Paulo (Brazil) on a topic called “Ontology of Language”, which basically says that we, as human beings, are constituted by the language and through the language. We give sense to the world; interpret the reality and ourselves based on our language. Our history is supposed to be told, spoken – and as a story, we can reinterpret it.

Professionals are coming out in the market as ontological coaches to help people understand how they build interpretations about their existence and how it affects their way of being. Each one has a “unique” combination of culture, history, knowledge, characteristics that influence who we are and how we see the world. As a consequence, how we relate to others and to ourselves will be based on that.


How do we interpret our world? How do we see ourselves? How do we communicate what we see? Am I effective in communicating what I see and what I am to others? How do I judge things and people? What are my beliefs and how they limit or expand my understanding of the world?

If we are going in circles in our lives with the same stories or problems, maybe it is a good opportunity to take on these cases and through them understand our mindsets and limitations, in order to amplify our perceptions.

The Ontology of Language also believes that by being aware and effective in our communication, we cooperate better and as a group or an organization, we leverage on our impact. For a reference, the work developed by Marta Magnus (ontological coach in Brazil):

• How do I observe the world? How does it open or close possibilities of action to me?
• What are my main obstacles to learn and how that affects my life?
• How do I listen to others and what is the impact of it in my relationships and life results?
• How do I approach and behave in front of different situations of conflict, unforeseen situations? Am I effective?
• Which are the necessary elements to build and reinforce our confidence, understanding it to be a basic emotion for coordinating our actions?