In writing my book “Emotional Equations,” I discovered that the mathematical way to think of Anxiety was as the combustible equation of
Anxiety = Uncertainty x Powerlessness
Since that time, I’ve told leaders that the most important thing they can do in a frenzied time is to communicate transparently (to reduce the uncertainty) and help people see how they can have an impact (to reduce the powerlessness). Unfortunately, the various epochs of the pandemic and now the Russian-Ukraine war have increased the complexity of leading.
On that note, I loved this recent Michael Meade podcast on the idea that maturity in the human psyche means an increased capacity to hold opposite ideas at the same time. The ancient Greeks called it being double-minded. Meade suggests that “If a person only holds a single idea, it’s like seeing the world with one eye. And seeing with only one eye can bring a person closer to becoming blind to what’s going on.”
More and more, I’m seeing that wisdom is about the capacity to endure and appreciate cognitive dissonance, the ability to embrace paradoxes and alchemize them. The real danger of our polarized modern age is losing the natural human capacity to hold a creative tension until life changes and renews itself. As Meade says in this podcast, “The point becomes how to hold our attention long enough to recognize the unseen third thing that is trying to emerge from the increasing tensions and polarizations of life on Earth.”
Let’s hope he’s right when it comes to this insane war.
For those of you who would like to explore the topic of The Power of Reflection in Uncertain Times, join us for a free one-hour online event featuring two of MEA’s guest faculty members, Mark Nepo and Paula Pretlow, along with one of my co-founders Jeff Hamaoui and me. You can register for free here.
