Block out. Be present. Have purpose. Make a difference.

In the late 2000s, I read Al Gore’s less famous book The War on Reason.  The book was released in 2007 and likely was written over the early 2000s when the world really changed (fast).  World events of 9/11 and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan provided the backdrop for his timeless thesis.  He cites the rapid chaos that surrounded the world (which was amplified constantly by media) as the key ingredient that allowed governments and powered individuals or their companies to sew regular fear in the public, making “being on high alert” the norm.   

Gore’s book articulates this elegantly in a simple formula (which applies today and has since the beginning of time): Fear Trumps (sic) Reason.  What ‘fear’ is – is infinite – it could be prognostications about the environment, a looming test, a faceless potential villain, or tariffs with a country’s largest trading partner.  Gore did not suggest (nor I), that any of these are not potentially substantive or real, but his point lands more to the point that when a fear looms so large (before it becomes reality), it minimizes the ability to rationally approach it and apply reason (critical analysis and action) to it.  The downstream outcomes of allowing fear to drive logic are never good for individuals, families, societies.

When fear dominates the discourse, making objectively, balanced plans and creative ideation are eliminated from courses of action.  We begin locking our doors and not trusting anyone, and latch on to the words and practices (or direction) of the day, often blindly subscribing to people with absolutist ideas that present crude solutions where “everyone needs to tighten their belts”, or to “Trust No One”…  

This doesn’t work forever (or at all).

Growth comes from focus, identifying what is – and what is not in our ability to control or influence outcomes in the present time.  Anxiety (at its core is fear) = the inability to live or to control what happened in the past (with regret) or what happens future (in fear); it is not rooted in focus or being present.  There is good reason why the practice of Mindfulness Meditation or Kabbala traditions and many others are grounded in ‘being present’.  By being present (for yourself and others), we are able to centre our attention on the people and activities which we can control, immerse ourselves in and make differences.

There is no doubt that things are wack in the world – we can all see that clearly (and there are lots of people whose raison d’être is to fuel this chaos through toxic media channels one gnarly soundbite at a time).  The higher good and cleaner, sober head will direct us to remember that our teams, clients, customers, families and our souls (the things that matter) do not thrive when our focus is on things that are well outside of our spheres of influence.  The more we commit to being present, focused on gratitude oriented growth and stay present in our purposes, the more our influence can expand to others and others and others.  This is purpose. 

Lead with purpose, presence and focus, ignore the rest and make a real difference.