Joy Walk 2019 is a cross-country awareness walk from Santa Monica, CA to Charleston, SC. The walk serves two purposes.
- Raise awareness that when it comes to new knowledge from research there isn’t a fast path from awareness of the knowledge and delivery or action on that knowledge to benefit those it would help.
- Usually, the researcher is on to other projects.
- If it’s technology or pharmacology, there is a fast, profit-driven path to market.
- When it is knowledge, there is no fast path.
- A profit path is not the right way. If we rely on a profit path, the information that has the best marketers is the only information that will reach individuals who need the information.
- One of the main reasons of Joy Walk 2019 is to create awareness of this issue and fund a way to get the right information to people faster. Part of that solution is to create a way to prevent research designs that seem good from within a single or a few research silos but are not good because of knowledge is known in another research silo.
There are several examples of books that have become popular, very popular, and then been refuted. Leaving it up to marketing to get life-changing information to those it will benefit is not the right path.
The second purpose of Joy Walk 2019 is to share the information that will change lives that is sitting in research studies and not reaching people it could help. I’m hoping to give speeches every day as I walk across the country, most of them for free.
Why am I passionate enough to do this? I am passionate because after reading over 7,000 research studies and having my heart broken as I read about research that shows we can prevent suicides, greatly reduce the school-to-prison pipeline, and so much more and do so much more good and its not happening. I’ve been raising awareness full time for seven years and every time I hear a story about suicide I ask myself, “Is there something I didn’t do that could have prevented this?” I ask the same question about every child who is lost on the school-to-prison pipeline (a pipeline that consumes 2/3 of at-risk children).
This is the Statement of Purpose for Thrive More Now Institute that made my first thought after reading this question “Wow!”
Thrive More Now Institute
The institute was born because after identifying root-cause solutions for many pressing social and health problems in published research it became apparent that much of the misery and suffering in the world is already preventable.
When new drugs, technology, or medical devices are invented, there is a pathway that takes them from the lab to those who need or want the help they provide. Potential profit and a free market drive this process and it tends to work well.
When new ways to help humans thrive that are informational in nature are identified, the knowledge lingers for years and often for decades before it reaches those who can benefit from the knowledge.
Reasons Research Knowledge is Disseminated Slowly
Research is silo’d. The vast quantity of published research makes it rare for a single researcher to be aware of all the research that relates to their own work in other silos.
We’ve divided the mind and body into so many pieces and parts that researcher do not see the integrated system.
Information and solutions focus on information within the researchers silo while ignoring influences outside the silo.
The pressure to publish takes researchers from one project to the next with little time to reflect or push the information they identify out to the people it would help.
The pressure to research and publish keeps researchers focused on small pieces of the overall puzzle. For example, every researcher Dr. Joy talked to about the burning question that led her to seek knowledge in order to answer, “What makes some humans thrive in spite of adversity?” told her to give up. They said it was “Too big of a question to answer.” It was too big if she did all the research or remained in a single silo but by reading research others had done from many different silos, she was able to identify the root cause of human thriving and how to increase its prevalence.”
The general public’s access to research is limited. We recognize that this is improving.
Research published in books doesn’t reach the people it would help the most. Members of the demographic that would benefit the most are least likely to read books. Books with the best marketing, not the best information, reach the public. Popular books have contained erroneous, misleading, or harmful information that is scientifically refuted but the popularity of the book gives the information a life of its own.
Problems from Slow Dissemination of New Knowledge
The biggest problem from slow dissemination is that people suffer more and longer than they have to suffer. Once we have a solution that will alleviate all or part of a problem that is affordable, delaying implementation does not make sense.
Affordability can be measured in numerous ways. If the dissemination of new knowledge or skills would be offset by cost savings within five years, I consider it highly affordable. If it would be offset by cost savings in twenty years, it is affordable.
20-year timeline of an at-risk child
Charlie is a 4-year-old at-risk child. The likely course of Charlie’s life indicates that he will be involved in gangs and drugs before he is a teenager, he will develop at least one mental illness before he is 16. He is unlikely to complete high school and is likely to spend the majority of his adult life incarcerated if he doesn’t die via violence or an overdose, which are also likely outcomes for little Charlie.
If Charlie is taught social and emotional skills, including emotion regulation and stress management skills during the next two years and those skills are reinforced in the classroom as he moves from grade-to-grade, Charlie’s potential can be realized. If we do this, Charlie is more likely to remain mentally healthy, to complete high school, go to college, and complete college. He is less likely to commit any crimes, be incarcerated, or become addicted to alcohol or drugs.
We already have published research with longitudinal studies that demonstrate the value of teaching Charlie and other children these skills but we’re not doing it.
The cost savings include tangible and intangible benefits. At this point, we have no idea what Charlie’s potential is. That potential is completely wasted if we do nothing. On his current path, Charlie is likely to harm others before he ends up in jail or dead. The negative affect on those lives is part of the equation.
Part of the reason we’re not doing it is that the research supporting this approach is scattered in many different silos. It is only when it is combined that the compelling story becomes visible.
The research demonstrating the improved graduation rates is in one silo. Research demonstrating the negative effects of stress on the mind and body are in other silos. The biochemical effect of stress on the body is in yet another silo.
Meanwhile, all the Charlie’s and Suzie’s continue to suffer. Their parents suffer. Their siblings suffer. Their victims suffer. Their communities suffer. Their worlds suffer from the lack of the contributions they could have made if they were taught skills we already know would help them reach their potential.
Primary Prevention
This chart shows how Primary Prevention for Physical Health.
This chart shows Primary Prevention for Mental Health
This chart shows Primary Prevention for Crime and Violence
Primary Prevention builds healthy roots. The health of the root has a tremendous effect on outcomes in every area of life.
Problems from Lack of Coordination of New Knowledge
The full story cannot be seen in any one silo. There is currently not a structured process that brings information from many different silos together while focusing on answering a big question. Big questions are discouraged because they cannot be answered quickly or by the research of individuals within a silo.
The system is designed such that the rewards come from publishing and from the importance of your silo. There is a bias, even if it is unconscious, toward finding answers in your silo. When your silo provides solutions, more research money flows to your silo.
Enormous amounts of research funding are wasted because what is known in other silos is not considered when studies are designed.
We won’t name any names but we will give an example. Physician burnout is a serious problem affecting more than 50% of physicians in the United States. It is a worldwide problem. One study by a prominent researcher pointed to management as the problem. He’s a good researcher but his study did not consider the mood congruence of human thought. When mood congruence is considered, it negates his findings. Mood congruence would have predicted the findings and explained them, reaching a completely different conclusion.
What is the cost of this? You have the cost of the research. The time the researcher spent conducting the research when he could have been doing research with a better design (that considered the mood congruence of thought). Because he is well-respected, his results were widely disseminated. Healthcare organizations began attempting to address clinician burnout using his findings but those methods aren’t effective because the conclusions were wrong.
This is just one scenario and the downstream effects. We already have a physician shortage. We lose 400 physicians to suicide each year and 5% of physicians would quit today if they could. Solutions for this serious problem have been delayed. The perception that this research is accurate leads to resistance to other solutions that consider all the silos.
Solutions to the Silo Problem
We do not think a profit path like those that exist for pharmaceuticals and technology is the right path for new knowledge. The reason we feel strongly about this is a profit path will result in the information that is marketed the best reaching those it can help; not the most useful information. When lives are at stake, it is important that best practices be identified and disseminated.
Annual Meetings
We will fund annual meetings that bring researchers from disparate fields together so they can have deep conversations and find the connections between their research. We propose a 2-week session each year. The first part of the session would be group presentations and meetings where information is presented and discussed openly in an environment that is focused on putting pieces of the puzzle together in new ways. As the meeting progresses, researchers will join with others to understand at a deep level how their work is connected despite being in completely different silos. The end of the session will be a meeting where those connections are shared with all attendees.
One thing we will do ddifferentlyfrom most scientific conferences is we will invite and welcome full participation by auto-didactic learners. Because of the silos and focus on quick results, researchers in silos haven’t been looking at big questions. They have been trained to believe they cannot find those answers. We believe there are other auto-didactics who have been passionately pursuing answers to big questions in much the same way Dr. Joy has, by reading research in many different silos. They will be welcome at the meetings and allowed to participate fully.
We will also invite individuals who have achieved personal results in areas where science does not yet have solutions to submit papers or videos talking about the process they used that led to success. As a society, we tend to ignore this type of information because it doesn’t fit the mold. If nothing else, the information can point to paths researchers should focus on exploring.
Published Results
The results of the meeting and the findings will be published (open access).
When there are government policy implications from the findings, reports will be prepared and presented to the appropriate authorities in the US and abroad.
Funding Goals
Funds to pay for:
- The annual conference
- Staff
- Financial support to fund research, especially research focused on big questions that are too broad for a single silo
- Outreach efforts that bring research that solves big problems to organizations (charities and other organizations that would put the information to good use)
Funding Sources
Joy Walk 2019 will be the initial funding source. It is a coast-to-coast walk to raise awareness of the problem and solutions that have already been identified by Dr. Joy as she sought the answer to the question, “What makes some humans thrive in spite of adversity?” which morphed into “What are the best ways to teach people this new information?” after she found answers to the first question.
During the Joy Walk, Dr. Joy hopes to attract enough interest to generate donors who will support Thrive More Now Institute going forward.
Other fund raising methods will be determined in the future.
One funding source that is the sale of t-shirts that provide quotes that raise awareness about solutions generated by our work.
