January 15, 2018 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. & Creative Maladjustment Human salvation lies in the hands of the creatively maladjusted. Dr. Arin N. Reeves As we celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. King, the world often turns to the iconic and inspiring words of Dr. King s I Have A Dream speech. Yes, this historical speech delivered to hundreds of thousands of people at the March on Washington on August 28, 1963, was a game-changing call to action for a nation in crisis. BUT... For me, the lesser-known speech that he delivered to a small crowd at Western Michigan University just a few months later on December 16, 1963, holds the words that most profoundly impact how we all need to think and lead today. https://mailchi.mp/b9a3009286a5/mlk-maladjustment 1/6
Martin Luther King Jr. talks at a WMUK microphone during his Dec. 18, 1963 visit to Western Michigan University's Read Fieldhouse. CREDIT WESTERN MICHIGAN UNIVERSITY and WMUK.ORG Dr. King began his prescient comments that December by noting: I would like to start on the world scale by saying more than ever before that men and women are challenged to develop a world perspective The world in which we live is geographically one. Now we are challenged to make it one in terms of brotherhood. It's eerie how much his words apply to our world in 2018 as they did in 1963, but it is his solution to this challenge that applies more today than ever before. He proposed that what it will take to move forward in this world will be - maladjustment. Yes, the people who cannot adjust to the injustices around them today are the people who will lead us to a more just and inclusive future. Modern psychology has a word that is probably used more than any other word in modern psychology. It is the word maladjusted Certainly, we all want to avoid the maladjusted life. In order to have real adjustment within our personalities, we all want the well-adjusted life in order to avoid neurosis, schizophrenic personalities. But I say to you, my friends there are certain things in our nation and in the world which I am proud to be maladjusted and which I hope all men of good-will will be maladjusted until the good societies https://mailchi.mp/b9a3009286a5/mlk-maladjustment 2/6
realize. I say very honestly that I never intend to become adjusted to segregation and discrimination. I never intend to become adjusted to religious bigotry. I never intend to adjust myself to economic conditions that will take necessities from the many to give luxuries to the few. I never intend to adjust myself to the madness of militarism, to self-defeating effects of physical violence In other words, I m about convinced now that there is need for a new organization in our world. The International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment men and women who will be as maladjusted Who in the midst of the injustices of his day could cry out in words that echo across the centuries, Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. As maladjusted as Abraham Lincoln who had the vision to see that this nation would not survive half-slave and half-free. As maladjusted as Thomas Jefferson who in the midst of an age amazingly adjusted to slavery would scratch across the pages of history words lifted to cosmic proportions, We know these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator certain unalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness Through such maladjustment, I believe that we will be able to emerge from the bleak and desolate midnight of man s inhumanity to man into the bright and glittering daybreak of freedom and justice. https://mailchi.mp/b9a3009286a5/mlk-maladjustment 3/6
The power of maladjustment the choice to not adjust to what is wrong or broken even if it invites others to call you crazy. For me, this is the enduring legacy of Dr. King his ability to take a crazy reality and refuse to adjust to that reality because he knew a better reality was possible. As I reflect on the lessons learned from 2017 and the work ahead of us in 2018, the leadership lesson from Dr. King I carry with me always is that it is not crazy to be maladjusted. It is actually crazy to adjust when you know that what you are adjusting to does not live up to the best of who you are. It is the maladjusted who lead. It is the maladjusted who change the world. Take a moment today to reflect on what you refuse to adjust to because you know that we know better and deserve better. Then, congratulate yourself. You are officially a member of The International Association for the Advancement of Creative Maladjustment. Welcome! Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! THE NEXTIONS MISSION We are a team of inspired authentic people who see with imagination, create with courage, serve with integrity, and lead with passion. We believe that by changing the way individuals think, work, and lead, we can change the world...for good. We work for that change every day by living Our Fundamentals in every interaction with each other and all those we have the privilege of serving. OUR FUNDAMENTALS https://mailchi.mp/b9a3009286a5/mlk-maladjustment 4/6
Joy we approach our work with joy every day with the commitment that joy requires passion for what we do, gratitude for our ability to do it, and a positive attitude for how we do it. Excellence we pay attention to every detail in our environment, our actions and our work with the commitment that no detail is too small to matter. Kindness we are kind in every interaction with each other, our clients, and our partners with the commitment that being kind is a choice we make regardless of what is going on around us. Kaizen we continuously improve our environment, our actions and our work with the commitment that we can always do it better. Kairos we seize every moment as an opportunity to solve a problem with the commitment that we work to solve problems, not execute tasks. Leadership we lead with innovation in our ideas, our service and our actions with the commitment that leadership requires imagination, courage, and integrity. Copyright 2017 Nextions, LLC All rights reserved. Nextions, LLC 500 N. Michigan Avenue Suite 600 Chicago, IL 60611 312.922.0226 https://mailchi.mp/b9a3009286a5/mlk-maladjustment 5/6