Friday, April 9, 2021
Welcome to The Fierce! Today I want to talk about some ways to navigate a world filled with overwhelming bad news (and bad advice).
It’s 2021, and while the rate of dumpster fires per week has slowed down considerably from 2020, we are not dumpster fire free.
So, let’s talk about staying centered and grounded. Because the trash will always be with us.
Keeping calm so we can carry on
You already know that your heart rate goes up (and not in the good way) when you read stories about awful people doing horrible things. The WHO and other research confirm that you aren’t alone. Bad news can be a powerful trigger for the multiple traumas that so many are coping with.
And even if you aren’t working with clinical trauma, marinating all day in outrage does bad things to your health and your ability to focus on your big projects.
I really liked Kelley Anne’s article at Burn Bright: It’s OK to not be OK – 3 ways to cope in difficult times.
I like Burn Bright’s emphasis on turning away from toxic positivity. Because staying cheerful at any cost can create some of the worst burnout you’ll ever face.
My favorite quote, because not enough folks are saying this:
“See, toxic hustle culture will convince us that there has never been a better time [to] ‘grind’ to achieve your dreams.
“That’s a lie. There have been better times.”
– Kelley Anne
And take a look at this article from U.C. Berkeley’s Greater Good newsletter, on how to be intentional about your pandemic news intake.
Steering clear of terrible advice
There’s a very special hot place for people who give bad advice to those who are struggling.
I wrote this piece early in 2020 for Slow Business Adventure, on spotting unethical business and marketing “gurus” who will give you awful advice and run away with your cash:
Avoiding Dangerous Guru Myths
While there are a lot of potential red flags, here’s what I think is the key “tell” that you can use to identify the worst players: Beware any “expert” who positions themself as the sole source of business truth.
When a business adviser makes themselves the only answer to every possible problem, that person quickly turns into a cult leader, not an ethical teacher.
Along those lines, it’s important to remember that sometimes even amazingly great advice isn’t great for you.
There’s a difference between powering through the hard stuff and just blindly letting a would-be guru lead you off a cliff.
A strategy I’ve found useful
Quite a few years back, I stumbled across the advice from business coach Dan Sullivan to “protect your confidence.”
Not in a blind “let’s lead the lemmings over the edge” way, but in a way that gives you the energy to keep striving, experimenting, and growing.
It’s served me in really good stead. And when the world feels like one giant Tilt-a-Whirl, looking for ways to protect your confidence can be a good way to reclaim some emotional stability.
I shared some strategies for that here: 5 Ways to Protect Your Entrepreneurial Confidence.
Give yourself some peace and quiet
Finally, my favorite tool for taking control of my media intake (social media and otherwise) is the Freedom app.
It’s not free (and that’s not an affiliate link, just for the record), but I like the flexibility it offers to set up your own rules and your own list of sites that mess with your head.
There are lots of website blockers out there, many of which are free, so look around to see what might work well for you.
That’s The Fierce for this week. Find your center, protect your confidence, and stay fierce.
Next week we’re gonna talk about some resources for fierce creativity.
Sonia
(P.S. ok, ok, if you want to subject yourself to one of the week’s more odorous trash fires, here’s a take from Amanda Arnold at The Cut on the Rachel Hollis nonsense. Best thing about Hollis is she’s a superb roadmap on what to avoid.)
