... and how is Anxiety helpful?
The Coronavirus Pandemic gives many of us reasons to be afraid. Some of us fear social isolation. Some of us fear a loss of income. Or maybe you and your team are on the front lines of this fight and risk direct, repeated exposure to the virus?
Fear in these situations is natural and appropriate, but if we allow fear to spin out of control or to turn to panic then we will lose the fight before it begins.
Churchill, King, Kennedy, and Eisenhower are but a few leaders who are remembered for their courage in the face of insurmountable odds. Following their example, as leaders, we must respond with the strongest antidote to fear: Courage.
We are called to muster personal courage and to help foster courage in those we work with.
How will you help your team and community with their fears?
Please join us as we discuss that question and many others. We will be hosting a few webinars to provide food for thought, a chance to brainstorm, and a chance to share ideas about what can be done to encourage your teams & others in your life.
We want to keep this interactive, so we will spend ~10 minutes sharing some practical leadership insights and then open the floor for questions and an exchange of ideas. In order to keep it interactive, each session will be limited to 10 participants.
Join Us for a Leadership Chat
March 24, 2020 at 11:30am EST (8:30am PST) - Session full
March 26, 2020 at 2:30pm EST (11:30am PST) - Session full
March 27, 2020 at 12pm EST (9am PST) - Session full
March 30, 2020 at 1pm EST (10am PST) - Session full
March 30, 2020 at 2:30pm EST (11:30am PST) - Session full
And we invite you to review these ideas before the webinar:
What Lessons are to be learned from our history about Anxiety?
~ Brad Zimmerman
History teaches us that as a people, we always land on our feet.
About 15 years ago, I was in a complete panic.
At the time I labeled it “anxiety,” but it was panic. Business was in trouble, revenues were too low to sustain the lifestyle my wife and I had, and there were no new business prospects in sight. I was panicking.
I went to my psychologist for help dealing with the mental state I was in, and he said something to me that I hold on to till this day and shall never forget. The conversation went something like this:
How many times have you missed a house payment? When have you been unable to provide clothes for your kids? Been unable to afford food? Been unable to pay your bills?
My answers to all the above questions was “never.” He then said, “History is a good predictor of the future. And your history demonstrates that Brad Zimmerman always lands on his feet.”
It strikes me that the same thing can be said for The American People. We always land on our feet.
As I look back on recent American History, I realize that each decade held their own panic inducing events:
The 40s: World War II
The 50s: Polio, nuclear war with Russia
The 60s: The Vietnam War, generational wars over social beliefs, recreational drug epidemics, campus protests
The 70s: Political upheaval, rampant inflation, 17% interest rates
The 80s: Tehran Hostage Crisis, Chernobyl meltdown, stock market crash
The 90s: Columbine shooting, more global wars, pandemics, the “Y2K” scare
The 2000s: 9/11, domestic terrorism, the Great Recession, a world-wide threat of financial meltdown
The 2010s: Continued global financial crisis and global recession, global warming, divisive political polarization
In the face of each of these crisis’s, as a people, we have found a way to land on our feet. After an initial panic, in some cases longer lasting than others, we mustered the courage, ingenuity and hard work to do what needed to be done. We will do the same in the face of the Coronavirus Pandemic.
We have little time to waste, however. This virus will get ahead of us if we do not act quickly. In short, we have no time to wallow in self-pity, drama, and panic. That includes blame. No time for blame; we must unite, put our differences to the side and go to work for the greater good; the good of our people and our society. To be a beacon of unity, a force for healing, an encouraging source of leadership that calls us as a people to step up. Because step up, we must.
We must encourage our people, that is, we must help foster courage. George Bernard Shaw gives us a great example of living for a larger purpose that is the seed bed of courage vs. living in the dark shadow of self-pity and fear:
This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.
Our job as leaders is to help people see the “purpose recognized by themselves as a mighty one”… to support them in being a force of nature.
I believe in the resilience of the human spirit and in the ability of all of us to step up. We only need to remember our higher purpose, then remind those around us of their higher purpose.
If we are united with one another in the service of our fellow man, I am confident we will step up… and land on our feet!
SUMMARY
Core Idea:
When we are united with one another in the service of our fellow man, I am confident we will step up… and land on our feet!
Key take away:
"As leaders, we are called to muster personal courage and to help foster courage in those we work with, especially during times of great challenge."