Over the last two months, we’ve been through it.
I’ve have many conversations with clients about managing fears while so much change is happening so fast, and yes, I’m referring to the pace of changes with the US government. Plus, during February, many of you found yourselves in bed with nasty bouts of covid, flu, RSV, and often a combo thereof.
You, my clients, are American, Canadian, Ukrainian, Israeli and Syrian, you live in continental USA and abroad. No one has been spared impact.
In effort to support you, I find myself returning to the concept of The Noble Lie.
Sounds refined. But it has an edge.
It was a Socratic idea that giving people a hopeful lie to believe in can make them easier to govern. Home ownership as the great American dream is one such lie – believe me, it’s not for everyone, and it’s often not a good investment.
It’s a lie that governing bodies tell us, or we tell ourselves, to keep things moving along at a docile pace. A popular one I heard a lot during in Trump’s first term was “you can’t listen to everything he says, it’s just talk”.
Yeah, that’s my raised eyebrow you’re feeling right now.
And yet, when used non-exploitively, we can use the concept of a Noble Lie a life preserver, helping us through this moment. In some circles it’s called Faith. Perspective. Belief.
A Noble Lie that’s helping my clients regulate right now is believing that this moment of chaos is a temporary. Believing that this isn’t the end of Democracy in America, but that we’re being tested.
And we will need to rise to that test.
Time will reveal if this is a lie or truth, but hope, can calm anxiety and alchemize that energy into action, based on logic, and yes, propelled by fear. Whilst the zone is being flooded, we must believe that there will come a point when the tide recedes. The fire stops. The hurricane is over. We must believe that this can and will end.
And fueled by that belief, we make it so.
Government staffers must return to their congressional mandates, albeit with half the money and half the teams. It’s that old camping trick of “take half the stuff out of your backpack and see what you can do”.
We’re being tested. Rise.
Allison
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While that was all going down, I wrote these love letters to two of my favorite newsletter writers, Susan Cain and Luvvie Ajayi. Have a look.
I’d also like to start featuring your stories, so let me know if you’ve got one you’d like me to share. I know one of you has a book coming out, and one of you just won an Emmy! Let’s share some wins and celebrate together. I’d love to share your stories of change, creativity and contentment.
