A Creative Leader’s Antidote to Fear

Wellbeing that calls for a healthy dose of doing

When the going gets tough, it’s hard for me to change my mind. Myopic, tunnel vision and close-mindedness are all symptoms of my being overwhelmed. But in a silver lining of our current cultural revolution, I’ve taken solace from quite a few wise teachers who’ve been liberally sharing their practices of gratitude, hope, and compassion to usher in a sea change.

Yet, even when these practices lead me to lighter and more connected places lately, I’m still uneasy.

I wake up too early. The mornings are unusually filled with hesitation. And with all that mental processing going on behind the scenes, it’s deeply exhausting. I’ve become more vulnerable to the quick hits of dopamine that come with passively scanning my news and media, keeping busy, and scavenging for treats. They’ve been less effective than usual though. As even my most reliable soul balm (tuning into stories where I can ride along in another hero’s journey) fails to consistently hold my attention and warm my heart, I realized something —

I have to get out of my head. My antidote to fear is most often active. In actually doing something physical — feet moving, pen to paper — the tides turn. The work begins to flow, and all the things feel better. In charting this…