On our morning walk today, Barney (the dog) and I got caught in the school run (lazy snoozy little pup wouldn't get out of bed). I observed as we were passing children, that some were clearly fearful of my low riding but exuberant Pomeranian pup as they edged as far from him as possible (some even whimpering at him) or in some instances they were just stopped in their tracks with fear, and others wanted to come cuddle his fluffy little body and “play with the doggie”.
This is not dissimilar to the change we face in our lives each and every day. Take for instance our current situation here in the UK. We have all so desperately wanted to see humans for the last 18 months. I am now faced with glorious freedom, heading out into the world again there is the warring factions in me that is:
“Woo hoo humans! Hugging! Eating out, seeing my people *do a little dance*!!!”
Then there is:
“OMG humans! Viruses! Scheduling / bookings to get into places! Eh this feels difficult, scary unknown! How do I do this again?”
We respond like this in the work place as well. The company announces you’re getting new technology, new ways of working, you’re scaling up, you’re launching in a new market… the list can go on. Your logical brain knows you desperately need the tech, the ways of working, new markets, more clients (whatever it may be) because what you have today is cumbersome, problematic, creating extra work but you still feel fear of the unknown, of the uncertainty of how you will work and behave in a new world. What if this tech doesn’t work, what if the new ways of working don’t work, what if we have missed something, what if we fail in this market, what if we can’t scale?
Here's the good news, this is entirely part of the human experience! It’s innate in us, I mean after all at one time we had to wrestle dinosaurs and figure out how to feed ourselves from the wilds (admittedly I still feel like this when my husband doesn’t do the cooking!) so we lived in fear of what would happen to us.
The great news…. We get to stare Fear in the eye, let Courage & Curiosity take Fear’s hand and say “Let’s do this thing! Come on an adventure with me Fear, I got you Bae!”
It’s uncomfortable to deal with our fear, but it can and will be rewarding. When you do deal with it you get to do interesting things, see glorious, fabulous people, cuddle the puppy, you get to grow in your experience, uncover your hidden treasures and bring that treasure to light. When you do this, transformation can take place.
Because I choose not to be boring, Courage, Curiosity, Fear and I are about to embark on a journey together, I hope you will join us in our adventures for creating more HUMAN-NESS and helping transform the workplace.
For fun here is a picture of the courageous Barney the Great and his big sister Coco The Challenger! Coco staring fear in the eye, embracing her curiosity.... Fear & curiosity of having a new brother, fear of not being the favourite fur child, fear & curiosity of other weird furry animals in her house.
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