In the movie The Life of Pi, a teenager named Pi sets out with his zookeeper parents on a journey across the Pacific Ocean. Also aboard the Japanese cargo ship are the zookeeper’s animals, a veritable Noah’s Ark en route from India to their new home in Canada. During a storm, the freighter sinks, and Pi finds himself on a lifeboat with one of the animals, a Bengal tiger. Sharing the small, contained space with his mortal enemy, Pi struggles to stay alive and sane atop the perilous waters of the Pacific.
The adventure, based on the Man Booker Prize winning novel by Yann Martel, is rich with symbolism. The tiger, of course, is the projection of Pi’s innermost fears, and Pi’s struggle is to come to terms with these fears without being eaten alive, while at the same time, making it safely across the ocean.
In leadership, stressful situations often arise which evoke fear harbored deep within us. These fears could stem from concerns about the future, or be triggered by unresolved issues in our past or present relationships. Whatever the cause, these deep-seated fears can impede adaptive problem solving and detract from our understanding and coping with real-life challenges.
The biggest obstacle to dealing with our fears is that they often remain hidden from view. Instead of correctly labeling something a fear, we often attribute our emotions to other factors. Our fear and apprehension can be projected outward into blame and loathing or inward into hurt and self-deprecation. These altered perceptions sometimes exacerbate the problem.
It is often necessary to turn the mind inward to become fully aware of the root causes of our emotions. This is not an easy task, but awareness is a necessary step toward effective handling of any challenging situation.
An incident last week gave me a first-hand understanding of the difficulties in confronting and containing my fears. I was approaching a juncture where I needed to make substantial financial investment in one of my projects. I knew this investment was necessary, yet inside was the quiet voice of resistance. Through my meditation practice, I became aware of the blockage and drew the link with a constellation of fears relating to my now deceased father. I had thought I had worked through all of these fears in my late twenties. But here they were, roiling back.
Once I drew the connection, I could take proactive measures. First I needed to separate, in my analysis of the current situation, what was irrational fear from the portion that was conscientious prudence. The last thing I wanted to do was to completely inhibit the risk-management processes that were appropriately modulating my behavior.
Forcing myself into a state of rational reasoning, I came to the conclusion that the investment was indeed warranted. But, I also thought of a new strategy to mitigate the risk; a path that I had not considered before.
After undergoing this rational process, I was still sensing some blockage. I was not yet comfortable to take action. I needed to circle back to the emotional plane, and find a way to align my emotions with my newly discovered rationality. For this, I started reading a very inspiring book by Whitney Johnson, Dare, Dream, Do: Remarkable Things Happen When You Dare to Dream. Reading this book seemed to expunge the remaining irrational fears that were holding me back.
I suggest the following three-step process to help you come to terms with your own fears.
- Recognize that fear is affecting you and make a commitment to confronting the fears that are holding you back
- Embark on an analytical process to more clearly understand your situation on a rational level. Try to come up with at least one new alterative that you had not previously considered.
- Once you have done your analytical homework, return back into the emotional plane, and search for the inspiration to propel you to action. It could be a book, as it was for me, or perhaps something else more in line with your preferences and inclinations. Whatever it is, try to visualize the fear-based emotions exiting from your mind, your body, and your soul.
After you finish, spend some time to reflect on this monumental achievement. You have taken an important step to taming your own tiger of fear, and have brought yourself closer to realizing your full leadership potential.
What a timely book. Can’t wait for “Leadership and the art of struggle” to come out..
In the spirit of the Life of Pi, perhaps the book’s release date should be 3.14.