Today I’m thinking about our mindset about control. It’s human to want control. Our current mindset says if we can just control our environment, we will be okay.
Without control we feel fear and stress. Long-term stress compromises our immune system just when we need it most. Lack of feeling in control can create dysfunctional leadership behaviors. We try to micro-manage. This fosters disengagement just when we need everyone’s best contributions. We may unconsciously hoard information to control decisions. This prevents the best solutions from emerging from the broader ecosystem. It kills creativity, just when we need it most.
The pandemic is teaching us that in an interconnected and complex situation we need to change our mindset about being in control. Instead of trying to control that which we cannot, we stay present to what’s happening. We stay ready to pivot, engage, and be creative within the system we’re part of.
This poem by Danna Faulds is one I keep coming back to when I feel the urge to control that which I have no control over. It’s a beautiful reminder that we can’t have the control we would like in a complex system. Yet we can find a way to find ease.
Allow
There is no controlling life.
Try corralling a lightning bolt,
containing a tornado. Dam a
stream and it will create a new
channel. Resist, and the tide
will sweep you off your feet.
Allow, and grace will carry
you to higher ground. The only
safety lies in letting it all in –
the wild and the weak; fear,
fantasies, failures and success.
When loss rips off the doors of
the heart, or sadness veils your
vision with despair, practice
becomes simply bearing the truth.
In the choice to let go of your
known way of being, the whole
world is revealed to your new eyes.
Friends, we must find that new way of being. Being at ease without control.
Grateful that we’re in this together,
Henna
P.S. Please share this with family, friends, and colleagues or do this as a team. This exercise will help you grow your trusted support system. And don’t forget to comment below with your questions and challenges so we can co-create for our community.
