Learner. Human. Joyologist.
You often hear people talk about needing leaders not managers. I know what it’s meant by this but let’s be clear, the work needs to be well-managed. This is the floor not the ceiling but without a solid foundation, our house cannot stand. Management is part of leadership. It is not the only part of it. But it’s an essential part of it. Because if our work feels chaotic, we cannot do our best work.
Saying we need to "do better" does not create a path forward. It might inspire some to try by throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. For others, it might feel scary and cause them to shutdown. Either way, it's unfair to expect people to lean on willpower alone.
And collective hope may have saved my life as kid. There are people who say hope is not a strategy. But I think, hope is THE strategy.
In the meantime, may we all simply work to be fully where are our feet are planted. May we offer others our fullest presence and attention. And may others feel this from us in small ways. Whether it's putting our phone away, asking thoughtful questions that allow us understand more clearly what is said, or remembering to follow up on little details shared with us.
So, I'm counting on nothing but obstacles and the beautiful resilience and growth that comes from staying the course. I trust the process.
The best way to stay encouraged and engaged in processes that take time is to spend time noticing and celebrating how far we have come versus how far have to go. As I mention in Legacy of Learning, this is how we keep our brains motivated when the work is cognitively demanding.
This is what I mean by being gentle with ourselves. Maybe stop being so hard on yourself. We can push ourselves and hold ourselves to high expectations without shaming and blaming ourselves. OK, so maybe you wished you had handled that situation differently. Maybe you wished you had eaten better yesterday. Maybe you didn't get all of your steps in or didn't get all of your papers graded.
Before we can truly lead others and hold them accountable, we must first lead ourselves and hold ourselves accountable.
But it does make me wonder what it would look like to simply make more space for a little bit of nothing in our work, so our brains can process, invent, reflect, and refresh.
I'm sharing this because we need to normalize fear. We are human beings. Of course we are scared. Sometimes even terrified. But if we don't push through discomfort, if we don't learn to talk to ourselves in ways we would talk to someone we love, we won't have what it takes to solve the world's really complex and daunting problems. Our future and the future of this world quite literally depends on our response to discomfort.
MEGHAN LAWSON 