Man, I have such mixed feelings about this, not from the personal and occasionally societal benefit standpoints, but from the cost end.
I've been an upstream swimmer for a long time, and a couple of times pretty loudly and publicly. While I have no regrets, it can get really exhausting. The burnout from being misunderstood by everyone else you're close to going the other direction is real.
It improves once you let go of things and people you've moved on from, but that is such an emotionally painful peeling away that I feel bad for people in the thick of it even when they're people I don't particularly like.
Change is hard. Change is even harder when it disrupts or dissolves your whole social fabric. I think that's a big factor in why so many people don't do it.
I concur! Being that canary in the coal mine comes at a cost. All I can say is it is our duty to plant trees so future generations can sit in their shade.
I have been thinking about this a lot as I start a formal coaching practice and am nervous about being too different but also … why does the world need another exec coach talking about growth maxing and shareholder value and working til you’re sick and tired?
One thing I love about gen Z is that they are collectively the voice in the wilderness on so many things for they older generations (im gen X)- questioning why we live and work the way we do, refusing to put up with the same shit that we did.
I'm in the same boat. Also formally starting my coaching practice, and already I'm asking: "Is this too much?" I'm going for maximalist in my branding to match the idea of boldness and creativity that I want to encourage in the people I work with. No more shrinking violets!
As I become less and less tethered to conventional ways of being, this becomes a greater and greater challenge.
“The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed.“ — William Gibson
When I choose not to eat metabolism-destroying seed oils despite the fact that everyone around me does, or I look at that endocrine-disrupting, chemical-emitting “air freshener” that I know will be outlawed eventually, instead of getting frustrated with just how insane so much of the toxicity is around me, my new reminder to myself is: I am the future.
Without outliers to forge the way, how do we get there? How do we get to a world where ALL municipalities add vitamin c back into chlorinated water to give us clean yet less toxic water (not just a few in California)?
Once upon a time Semmelweis dared to be a pioneer of hand washing and Barry Young had a crisis of conscience in New Zealand. Semmelweis died crazy, vindicated only after death; time will tell what happens to Barry Young, but the lawsuits in Kansas and Texas are harbingers of a world where his heroism is not in vain.
We can only achieve the future we believe in if we put our lives and truths on the line and make it so, using our own lives and bodies as front runners to that place.
I love this! I used to call it brain storming in the office and tried to get others involved. Basically, say the crazy thing and have others build on it or denounce it. But you are starting a conversation about what is wrong and how you can fix it. It allows you to tap into the wisdom of the crowd, the collective intelligence. Deep inside ourselves we have the answers. But it takes courage to be the voice, name the things and sincerely seek the answers. But here’s the rub. People are loathe to look stupid so they’re unwilling to have hard conversations. No one wants to be the test case. But once a new way proves itself, everyone then claims to have been the first. I like the term beginner’s mind. Be like the curious child and ask all the questions. Be willing to look stupid because we are here to explore, experiment and become. No one has all the answers.
Old Jewish proverb:”if I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself what then? And if not now ,when? Another one is “where there are no men, be thou the man.”
There is great wisdom in the Talmud. Self care should always come first—mothers place oxygen mask on first, then attend to their offspring. Participating in the outside world even if it appears to be of no concern to us hits home hard here: “when they came for the (fill in the blank with marginalized group of choice), I said nothing b/c I was not one of them. When they finally came for me, there was no one left to speak for me…” (paraphrasing Pastor Martin Niemoller in First the came poem).
First, Jay Papasan is one of my favorite authors because of The One Thing (2013). That book is in my all time Top Five Books to keep on my credenza. All other books go in my library--the biggest room in the house. Second, I've considered this mantra my whole life --to point to a new direction, and take people along with you and here's my experience. While the view at the front as the pioneer and navigator leading the wagon train to California is exciting, it leaves me open for too many arrows in the back. The life of the visionary is a struggle because you see stuff others cannot discern and by the time they recognize what was so clear to you, you have moved out further ahead of them.
Wow “While the view at the front as the pioneer and navigator leading the wagon train to California is exciting, it leaves me open for too many arrows in the back. The life of the visionary is a struggle because you see stuff others cannot discern and by the time they recognize what was so clear to you, you have moved out further ahead of them.”
This post is timely! It’s hard talking about your trials and tribulations with Mental Health when you feel you’re the only person in an echo chamber! Nevertheless, I know in the pit of my gut that I’m doing good work with my newsletter so I will persevere. Thanks for the gee up!
When I was in seventh grade, I went to an educational meeting about overpopulation, when the population was half what it is now. Adults were speaking about it; adults were listening to it, at least one older child was listening and got a lifelong conviction.
You could say "ZPG", and no ignoramus asked you what that was!
Now that the population is double, I speak out in favor of limiting overpopulation. It may be too late. I write
"Don't add yet another little carbon footprint to feed to the overpopulation that drives existing loss of rainforest, urban “sprawl”, factory farming, cruelty to factory-farmed animals, starvation, pandemics, paving over the world, crowded cities, urban “growth”, slums, crime, overcrowding, water pollution, sewage spills, air pollution, carbon in atmosphere over 400, carbon dioxide and monoxide in the cities, extinction, landfill, sewage spills, sewage and waste problems, water shortages, death of ocean life, global warming, coral reef death, crime, public hostility, 4 billion fewer birds since 1970, 4 billion more people since 1970, rapid spread of disease, deforestation, hunger, scarcity of resources, housing shortages, high cost of food, housing, resources and everything, competition for food and groceries, trash on the highways and the land, traffic congestion, and loss of habitat."
I have unsurpassed contempt for people who say or write "The world is burning" after adding to the overpopulation by squeezing out babies.
Now with it more critical and perhaps too late, not only did ZPG itself change its name -- ignoramuses were unaware of it anyway -- online commenters, usually men, will be predictably hostile and predictably suggest that anyone who is against overpopulation should off themselves. They lack the mental capacity to grasp the simple concept that limiting population is how to *avoid* needless deaths.
Man, I have such mixed feelings about this, not from the personal and occasionally societal benefit standpoints, but from the cost end.
I've been an upstream swimmer for a long time, and a couple of times pretty loudly and publicly. While I have no regrets, it can get really exhausting. The burnout from being misunderstood by everyone else you're close to going the other direction is real.
It improves once you let go of things and people you've moved on from, but that is such an emotionally painful peeling away that I feel bad for people in the thick of it even when they're people I don't particularly like.
Change is hard. Change is even harder when it disrupts or dissolves your whole social fabric. I think that's a big factor in why so many people don't do it.
I concur! Being that canary in the coal mine comes at a cost. All I can say is it is our duty to plant trees so future generations can sit in their shade.
I have been thinking about this a lot as I start a formal coaching practice and am nervous about being too different but also … why does the world need another exec coach talking about growth maxing and shareholder value and working til you’re sick and tired?
One thing I love about gen Z is that they are collectively the voice in the wilderness on so many things for they older generations (im gen X)- questioning why we live and work the way we do, refusing to put up with the same shit that we did.
Thanks for this thought provocation!
I'm in the same boat. Also formally starting my coaching practice, and already I'm asking: "Is this too much?" I'm going for maximalist in my branding to match the idea of boldness and creativity that I want to encourage in the people I work with. No more shrinking violets!
As I become less and less tethered to conventional ways of being, this becomes a greater and greater challenge.
“The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed.“ — William Gibson
When I choose not to eat metabolism-destroying seed oils despite the fact that everyone around me does, or I look at that endocrine-disrupting, chemical-emitting “air freshener” that I know will be outlawed eventually, instead of getting frustrated with just how insane so much of the toxicity is around me, my new reminder to myself is: I am the future.
Without outliers to forge the way, how do we get there? How do we get to a world where ALL municipalities add vitamin c back into chlorinated water to give us clean yet less toxic water (not just a few in California)?
Once upon a time Semmelweis dared to be a pioneer of hand washing and Barry Young had a crisis of conscience in New Zealand. Semmelweis died crazy, vindicated only after death; time will tell what happens to Barry Young, but the lawsuits in Kansas and Texas are harbingers of a world where his heroism is not in vain.
We can only achieve the future we believe in if we put our lives and truths on the line and make it so, using our own lives and bodies as front runners to that place.
Here’s to us, the future makers!
I love this! I used to call it brain storming in the office and tried to get others involved. Basically, say the crazy thing and have others build on it or denounce it. But you are starting a conversation about what is wrong and how you can fix it. It allows you to tap into the wisdom of the crowd, the collective intelligence. Deep inside ourselves we have the answers. But it takes courage to be the voice, name the things and sincerely seek the answers. But here’s the rub. People are loathe to look stupid so they’re unwilling to have hard conversations. No one wants to be the test case. But once a new way proves itself, everyone then claims to have been the first. I like the term beginner’s mind. Be like the curious child and ask all the questions. Be willing to look stupid because we are here to explore, experiment and become. No one has all the answers.
Old Jewish proverb:”if I am not for myself, who will be for me? If I am only for myself what then? And if not now ,when? Another one is “where there are no men, be thou the man.”
There is great wisdom in the Talmud. Self care should always come first—mothers place oxygen mask on first, then attend to their offspring. Participating in the outside world even if it appears to be of no concern to us hits home hard here: “when they came for the (fill in the blank with marginalized group of choice), I said nothing b/c I was not one of them. When they finally came for me, there was no one left to speak for me…” (paraphrasing Pastor Martin Niemoller in First the came poem).
First, Jay Papasan is one of my favorite authors because of The One Thing (2013). That book is in my all time Top Five Books to keep on my credenza. All other books go in my library--the biggest room in the house. Second, I've considered this mantra my whole life --to point to a new direction, and take people along with you and here's my experience. While the view at the front as the pioneer and navigator leading the wagon train to California is exciting, it leaves me open for too many arrows in the back. The life of the visionary is a struggle because you see stuff others cannot discern and by the time they recognize what was so clear to you, you have moved out further ahead of them.
Wow “While the view at the front as the pioneer and navigator leading the wagon train to California is exciting, it leaves me open for too many arrows in the back. The life of the visionary is a struggle because you see stuff others cannot discern and by the time they recognize what was so clear to you, you have moved out further ahead of them.”
My life!!!!!!
This post is timely! It’s hard talking about your trials and tribulations with Mental Health when you feel you’re the only person in an echo chamber! Nevertheless, I know in the pit of my gut that I’m doing good work with my newsletter so I will persevere. Thanks for the gee up!
When I was in seventh grade, I went to an educational meeting about overpopulation, when the population was half what it is now. Adults were speaking about it; adults were listening to it, at least one older child was listening and got a lifelong conviction.
You could say "ZPG", and no ignoramus asked you what that was!
Now that the population is double, I speak out in favor of limiting overpopulation. It may be too late. I write
"Don't add yet another little carbon footprint to feed to the overpopulation that drives existing loss of rainforest, urban “sprawl”, factory farming, cruelty to factory-farmed animals, starvation, pandemics, paving over the world, crowded cities, urban “growth”, slums, crime, overcrowding, water pollution, sewage spills, air pollution, carbon in atmosphere over 400, carbon dioxide and monoxide in the cities, extinction, landfill, sewage spills, sewage and waste problems, water shortages, death of ocean life, global warming, coral reef death, crime, public hostility, 4 billion fewer birds since 1970, 4 billion more people since 1970, rapid spread of disease, deforestation, hunger, scarcity of resources, housing shortages, high cost of food, housing, resources and everything, competition for food and groceries, trash on the highways and the land, traffic congestion, and loss of habitat."
I have unsurpassed contempt for people who say or write "The world is burning" after adding to the overpopulation by squeezing out babies.
Now with it more critical and perhaps too late, not only did ZPG itself change its name -- ignoramuses were unaware of it anyway -- online commenters, usually men, will be predictably hostile and predictably suggest that anyone who is against overpopulation should off themselves. They lack the mental capacity to grasp the simple concept that limiting population is how to *avoid* needless deaths.