“If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities, and so weave a less arbitrary social fabric, one in which each diverse human gift will find a fitting place.” — Margaret Mead
Why is culture so important? So influential? How can we understand the value of accepting the diversity of culture?
The term “culture” commonly refers to ‘shared, learned behavior and meanings’ among certain groups of people and provides a framework through which individuals can make sense of their world (1).
Cultural Identity
Your beliefs, values, ethnicity, where you’ve lived before, and where you live now all comprise your cultural identity. When arriving in a new country, it is likely that the culture’s beliefs and values may differ from those of your home country.
This transition to your new country may be difficult, not only for you but also for the new people you will meet. You are trying to hold on to what you value and believe, and this might clash with your new culture, which consists of different values and beliefs.
Differences in ethnicity usually include differences in language. Your appearance, eating habits, clothing, and lifestyle may also be very different than those in your new country. All these adaptations will be challenging for you, but also for those people you meet who struggle with diversity.
Acceptance and nonjudgment are the keys to success. You will have to accept certain differences in your new culture and avoid judgment. Likewise, the new people you meet may reciprocate by accepting and being nonjudgmental of you.
When these things happen, your hybrid cultural identity will kick in. Your well-being and new identity in this cultural setting will be shaped by how long the assimilation process takes. The sooner you feel at home, the healthier your new cultural identity will feel.
“No culture can live if it attempts to be exclusive.” — Mahatma Gandhi
Effects on Well-Being
Well-being is the state of thriving (not just surviving) across various areas of life, such as relationships, work, play, and more, despite ups and downs. Culture and well-being are inextricably aligned.
Cultural involvement includes maintaining your heritage and an appreciation of the arts. Well-being benefits include a connection to your roots, an affiliation with your family and ethnic history, and a supportive connection to your identity of origin.
When one’s culture is in sync with one’s well-being, positivity and resilience are enhanced while loneliness and cognitive decline are reduced. Indigenous communities are especially vulnerable to any disconnect from their cultural heritage, mainly because of the absence of outside influences and the long history of traditional values and beliefs.
“The culture of a workplace—an organization’s values, norms and practices—has a huge impact on our happiness and success.” — Adam Grant
Liveability
There can be significant challenges to your well-being when arriving in a new culture. Cultural variability still has to satisfy the reality of liveability.
That is, certain human conditions will lead to a person’s thriving or lack thereof. This often means that the values, norms, and social relationships of a new culture are seen as liveable.
When these conditions of liveability are not being met, a person’s well-being will be at risk. This concept becomes more real when faced with experiences of discrimination, bullying, or social bias.
The liveability within such cultures becomes compromised. This does not only apply to living in a new country. One’s liveability acceptance could apply to any new workplace, new school, or new community.
“Diversity: the art of thinking independently together.” — Malcolm Forbes
The Values of Diversity
Cultural diversity brings together different talents and skills, which increases productivity. We learn from each other’s experiences and apply this new awareness to our own lives. Diverse minds working together create solutions by drawing on different ways of thinking and perspectives. Creativity gets a boost.
We learn about other cultures, lifestyles, and ethnicities, which expands our awareness to alternative points of view. Diversity creates a wider spectrum of information and knowledge. A wider spectrum of ideas leads to more creative solutions. Improved cultural insight reduces the negative aspects of diversity, such as racism, homophobia, and sexism.
Simplexity, a recently created term, proposes a possible complementary relationship between complexity and simplicity. The complexity of cultural assimilation appears to be a prime candidate for mechanisms that promote a healthier cultural awareness and community well-being.
Margaret Mead’s quote: “If we are to achieve a richer culture, rich in contrasting values, we must recognize the whole gamut of human potentialities…” summarizes where culture and well-being are genuinely copasetic. In the modern world today, there is an opportunity to create a symbiotic relationship between culture and well-being that promulgates human potential.
