Many of the organisations we are working with are going through their own version of ‘perma-crises.’ It is a lot to bear. When in this place of potential overwhelm there are a couple of common psychological responses.
1 Ignore it, deny its impact, numb ourselves from any feeling. Denigrate those that are drawing our attention to the issue. ‘Turn off the radio.’ Keep going with business as usual.
2 Feel overwhelmed by the scale of what we are facing. It is too much to hold. Give up. Blame our team, our manager, our family, governments and others in leadership roles for being so useless. Sink into our powerlessness to effect any change.
There is nothing about either of these options to feel bad about if you are experiencing them, they are understandable psychological responses. They are a reaction to the scale of what we face.
But there is another way if we can bring ourselves to it.
Pick one small place where your heart can connect to one of the organisation’s problems or one of the world’s problems. It doesn’t matter how small. Enter a tiny hole in the whole unbearable thing, give yourself to it, explore, learn, develop your empathy, become an expert and then.
Take one micro step.
It is enough. You will feel better. Things will likely get better.