Workshop Observation & Detailed Analysis Report: The Deep Transformation of Mindset and Behaviour Brought by the "Possible World" Simulation

1. Introduction: Background and Characteristics of the Session

This report analyses the transformation in behaviour and mindset of participants in the "Possible World" simulation. The session was conducted entirely in English for a mixed group of 25 students, primarily from a public high school in Darwin, Australia, and its sister school in Japan.

Due to the participants' age group and cultural backgrounds, many students were initially hesitant to speak up actively in front of others. Therefore, it was extremely difficult to recognise the paradigm shift occurring within them in visible forms such as "spoken statements." However, a definitive transformation was recorded in information beyond words, such as the volume of the space they created, their physical range of movement, their facial expressions, and the data left behind.

2. Phase 1: Creation of an Unbalanced World and the Emergence of "Powerlessness"

During the first round of the simulation, what I noticed was the quietness within the classroom. The students remained within the boundaries of their given goals, the rules they understood, and their own comfort zones, making their interaction with others (range of action) extremely limited. As a result, the world they created was an unbalanced one where only economic growth stood out, at the sacrifice of the environment and society (refer to Figure 1 and Table 1).

Figure 1. World Condition Meter

Table 1: Transition of the World Condition Meter (WCM)

Indicator	End of Round 1	End of Round 2	Trend of Change
Economy	16	18	Maintained high level with a slight increase (+2)
Environment	4	12	Significant recovery from a critical situation (+8)
Society	3	14	Dramatic improvement from the lowest level (+11)

Faced with the objective crisis shown by the World Condition Meter regarding the Environment (4) and Society (3), the students mustered their limited English vocabulary and wrote on sticky notes: "bad", "sad", "difficult", "disappointed", "poor", "greedy", and "complex".

Figure 2.a. Words chosen by participants after Round 1

What is particularly noteworthy is that in the pre-workshop awareness survey (Figure 3.a and Table 2 below), many students chose a low number in response to the question, "How much impact do you have on the state of the world?". As if reflecting this, words expressing powerlessness and pessimism in front of complex world systems were also chosen to describe the world they had built themselves in the simulation (refer to Figure 2.a).

3. Holding the Space as a Host: The Resolve to Wait for "Kizuki"

In this heavy atmosphere, rather than intervening from the outside by leading the room to solutions or motivating them, I simply committed to my role as a 'host'. This is because I believed the potential to transform the world already lies quietly within the participants themselves. My interventions were strictly limited to the following:   

1. Acceptance of emotions: We took time to face the honest feelings of "sadness" and "disappointment" they held towards the distorted world of the first round. I conveyed again that there is "no right or wrong" in this space.

   
   

2. Presentation of objective data: I reported matter-of-factly on the World Condition Meter and the current situation based on it.

   
   

3. Shift in perspective: I prompted them to read the second sentence of their goal cards, which includes the phrase 'a balanced world', and we confirmed together that this was also part of the goal. I did nothing beyond that, simply holding the space for their own intrinsic Kizuki (realisation) to emerge.
   

4. Exploration of possibilities: After reviewing the goal cards once more, we took time to reflect on their words and actions so far, the state of the world, and their goals, allowing them to think about what they could have done but did not do—that is, their possibilities.

"If you have a second chance, what kind of things could you do?"

To this question, one of the participants proposed:

"I want to negotiate more with everyone."

As a whole classroom, few people raised their voices, but I did not force them to speak up. The second round, their second chance, began.

4. Phase 2: Self-Liberation of Behaviour and the Dramatic Recovery of the World

As the second round began, the energy of the space shifted—quietly, yet unmistakably. While loud "spoken statements" in front of the whole group remained scarce, the volume of students negotiating with each other and the various sounds echoing through the classroom noticeably increased. Furthermore, students who had previously lingered around their own tables physically expanded their movement across the entire classroom, and many smiles began to appear on their faces. Even the teachers, who had kindly committed to the role of pure observers, remarked, "There are more smiles now!."

As a result of slightly loosening their mental frames and actively engaging with the system, the world regained harmony: Economy 18, Environment 12, and Society 14. The reflection sticky notes overflowed with the following words expressing accomplishment and joy: "Happy", "very happy", "good", "proud", "glad", "inspired", and "Balanced" (refer to Figure 2.b).

Figure 2.b. Words chosen by participants after Round 2

5. Changes that Occurred within the ParticipantsーMindset Shift

The behavioural transformations observed in the simulation are also supported by the numerical data from the awareness surveys (0–10 scale) conducted before and after the workshop experience.

Figure 3.a. Participants' state of mind - Before the workshop (BEFORE)

Figure 3.b. Participants' state of mind - After the workshop (AFTER)

Table 2.a. Q1: How much do you like your world today?

	Before	After
Average (μ)	6.9	8.8
Variance (σ²)	2.1	1.1

[Fostering a Sense of Solidarity]

The average score shows a significant shift towards the higher evaluation side of the scale. It is an important point that not only did the favourability score for the real world increase, but the variance of the answers also halved. This suggests that all participants found a shared sense of achievement and new possibilities through the world-building simulation, and this was strongly integrated and shared as a positive recognition towards the real world.

Table 2.b. Q2: How much impact do you have on the state of the world?

	Before	After
Average (μ)	4.4	7.2
Variance (σ²)	7.2	4.5

[Awakening a Sense of Agency]

The average score increased dramatically, and the variance also shrank significantly. The fact that the magnets in the low-evaluation zone regarding "impact", which was prominent before the workshop, completely disappeared is a remarkable change. This means that the sense of powerlessness against the complex system that the participants held was wiped away. It suggests that the certain realisation that "our mindset and actions create the world" became a deep Haraochi (true internal understanding), and this sense of agency was powerfully linked to their perspective on the real world.

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The change in Q2 is particularly important. As the fact that some students wrote "inspired" and "proud" on the sticky notes in the second round indicates, they stopped being powerless bystanders to the system and shifted their self-recognition to stakeholders who proactively create the world through their own actions.

6. Conclusion: What Brings True Transformation

At the end of the workshop, I threw one question to the participants.

"The same rules, the same duration, the same residents, the same cards.

Why did the world change so dramatically between the first round and the second round?"

The external system conditions did not change at all. The only thing that changed was their own state of being: expanding their range of action, calling out to each other, and cooperating with smiles. Through the experience of the world recovering as a result, I can say that a very deep and certain Haraochi had occurred within them.

I ended the session with the words that what changed the world was not the system, but the shift in their own mindset itself.

Every world is up to our mindset and action.

The quiet high school students realised their inner possibilities in just a short time, changed their behaviour, and fundamentally recreated story in the simulated world. This session became an excellent case study embodying the truth that each person's mindset and actions are the greatest factors that shape the world.