Leadership & Teams

Something is ending. Many somethings, all at once. That’s the scary, unavoidable nature of life. It’s almost too big to talk about, the constant uncertainty and impermanence we live with at all times. And our awareness of change and loss only grows more poignant as we age. Uncertainty is not knowing what happens next; impermanence is knowing full-well that everything you have or built will eventually end. And while much uncertainty asks you to prepare for loss, a kind of anticipatory grief, impermanence asks you to grieve in real-time.

In a world where change is assured and accelerating, it’s terrifying to think we might not have any control. Scarier yet is the question of whether we have any real choices. Do we get to determine where we go next, or do we exist in an endless chain of reactions, shifted one way or another by circumstance? It’s certainly true that so much of what happens to us is out of our hands. A lightning strike can inspire or destroy. Sometimes the people we love get sick. Or we get sick. Over time, politics and technology shift in a million little ways that can build or break entire industries. It’s almost laughable how much is out of our control. (Because, as the old adage goes, if you don’t laugh, you’ll cry.)