Outlook Uncertain
I find cult documentaries fascinating.
The most interesting part to me is when people start to see a crack in the facade and begin to question the teachings of their charismatic leader. It makes me wonder what it takes for someone to start questioning the certainty that their whole life has been built on. And how brave it is to walk away from everything you know into the great unknown.
Cults may be an extreme example, but they represent the lengths people will go to have some kind of certainty in their lives. The things we humans will do for answers.
Because, uncertainty, even if it is the reality of our existence, sucks. And man, have things felt particularly uncertain these past few months.
With the government shutdown, politically motivated violence on the rise, people losing their jobs, essential funding slashed, humans being deported, conflicts raging and the National Guard deployed (to just name a few…)
With so much uncertainty, it makes sense that we gravitate to someone (anyone!) who claims to have the answers. And there are plenty of influencers, leaders and organizations that want to tell you they have figured it all out. If you just eat this way, take thesesupplements, cold plunge in this arctic pool or vote for this guy - you will have something certain.
Dogma has never been my jam, no matter the flavor.
But I can understand the appeal.
Having structure and prescribed steps to follow must make things easier. Still, though, many of the spiritual traditions of the world hold space for mystery and the great unknown.
Because the truth is - no one has all the answers (not even AI). And simple answers to our complex challenges may bring comfort in our current sea of chaos. But they bring us no closer to solving them.
Reality is much more arduous, grey and not at all easy to tweet.
Even professionally, we are not supposed to admit to our uncertainty. We are told to “fake it 'til we make it” and hide any doubts in our decision-making. Because we have a culture where truthfully admitting that you do not know is seen as worse than saying something false confidently.
Meanwhile the true experts - people who really know so much about their craft and have done the work - are the first to admit what they don’t know. Because they understand just how much there is to not know.
I get how uncomfortable this all is. I have been facing a fair amount of uncertainty in my own life and I see myself doing all the things:
Looking for answers in strange places
Looking for someone to blame for what is not going right.
Putting off the inevitable (like sending this newsletter) in hopes that if I just wait a little longer - I will have more answers and be able to look more confident
In truth, there are a lot of things I do not know right now and instead of bullshitting you all, I am going to take my cues from the true experts.
I do not know what is going to happen in this country. Sure, my background in international peacebuildng and conflict resolution gives me some idea of where we could be heading - but nothing is certain.
I also do not know what is going to come of my work. Turns out our chaotic slide into authoritarianism is not exactly good for business.
I do know for certain that I am not alone in feeling like this. Everyone I talk to is facing uncertainty to some extent both in their personal lives and collectively.
So what can we do but lean into it, connect through it and do our very best to not let the actions we take moving forward come from fear.
If you would like to dive into this topic more (or others) and host a morale boosting program for your team, get in touch to plan a Lunch Pod!
These are structured, intentional sessions for workplace communities to promote well-being, strengthen interpersonal relationships, and build conflict resilience all while eating some delicious food together.
If workshops are more your thing you are in luck!
I am piloting a Navigating Conflict in Uncertain Times Workshop and would love to bring it to your organization or community.
Or if you have another subject that would be more applicable for your context, get in touchand I will see if I can put one together for you.
Also, I am trying a new thing. Because wherever I go, as soon as I mention to people that I have a background in conflict resolution - they tell me about a conflict at work or in their community.
So, I am starting to offer virtual Conflict Consults.
These are hour long conversations where together we will aim to trouble-shoot and navigate your situation from a different perspective.
My only caveat is I do not do family disputes. That is a different department…
Curious? Get in touch.
Have a good rest of your week and take care of yourselves out there!