People Power - November 2008

By Scott Humphrey

It’s a scary time out there. Whether you’re watching the stock market ticker scrolling across the bottom of the screen or the news of the day, there’s much around us today to cause us to fear. You may be as surprised as I was to find out that the immortal words of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself,” were spoken, not at the onset of World War II, but on March 4, 1933 during his first inaugural address and during the depths of the Great Depression.

I realize that most of the columns I write lean strongly to the optimistic side. I don’t apologize for this. I’m fully aware that this is my general nature. I’m a “glass half full” kind of person. I’ll even go further and say that the people I struggle the most to maintain a personal relationship with are the “doom and gloom,” “poor pitiful me” types.

Ironically the other type of individual that challenges me is the person I call the faux optimist. These people seem to live in a state of denial. They pretend that nothing ever gets to them. They lose their job and tell you it’s “fantastic.” They have a health crisis and refuse to acknowledge that they’re struggling. It’s as if they want the world to believe they fear nothing, and nothing catches them off guard. 

Now, I’m not a psychologist but I wonder how healthy this mentality is. After all, fear can bring about positive outcomes…when it motivates you to make necessary life changes. If fear of developing lung cancer causes you to quit smoking or never take it up, that is fear bringing about a positive outcome. If fear of not having enough money to retire causes you to save today, that is, again, fear bringing about a positive outcome. When fear of failure pushes you to try harder to succeed, that, too, is fear correctly channeled. 

Let’s look first at the negative side of fear and then discuss what one can do to face fear and come out better for the battle.

Fear encourages complacency
One hot July day, a farmer sat in front of his shack, smoking his corncob pipe. Along came a stranger who asked, “How’s your cotton coming?” “Didn’t plant none,” the farmer replied. “I was afraid of the boll weevil.” “Well, how’s your corn?” asked the stranger. “I didn’t plant none. I was afraid of the drought,” came the farmer’s reply. Still trying to find something to converse with the farmer about, the stranger said, “How about your potatoes?” “I ain’t got none. I was afraid of the tater bugs,” came the farmer’s reply. The stranger finally asked, “Well, what did you plant?” “Nothing,” answered the farmer. “I just played it safe.”

Unfortunately, fear often produces a groupthink mentality that says, “Everyone’s in the same sinking boat and there’s nothing we can do about it.” 

Fear distorts the truth
It’s been said that fear is like a mutating virus. It shows itself in many forms; suspicion, mistrust, anger, hostility, aggression, anxiety, worry, hopelessness and a host of negative emotions. It’s probably safe to say that most of humanity’s problems stem from the emotion of fear. William Wallace, the great Scottish knight, leader and patriot is credited with saying, “Everyone dies, but not everyone lives.”

On August 14, 1989, Time Magazine reported the sad story of a man from East Detroit who literally died of fear. He had taken a number of fur trapping expeditions over the years, and had been bitten by his share of ticks. Then he heard about Lyme disease, which is carried by deer ticks. He became delusional with fear that he had been bitten in the past by a tick with the disease and that he had passed the disease to his wife.

Doctors tested him and assured him he didn’t have Lyme disease and that, even if he did, the disease was virtually impossible to transmit to his wife. But the man didn’t believe the doctors. Paranoid because of the imagined disease, the man killed his wife and then himself. 

Police found the man’s mailbox jammed with material describing Lyme disease and a slip confirming a doctor’s appointment for yet another Lyme disease test.

Fear paralyzes
I have a friend who goes into a panic attack every time he goes over a bridge. I first noticed it several years ago when we were traveling in Florida over a bridge that spanned several miles of inlet water. I have to admit that I enjoyed myself at his expense by going a little slower than normal when passing over that body of water. I mean, seriously, who ever heard of fear of driving over a high bridge? 

Well, it turns out my friend is not alone. In fact, some people will travel hours out of their way to avoid experiencing this paralyzing feeling. As a matter of fact, because of this fear, the operators of some of the longest and highest spans in America now offer a driving service. On request, one of the bridge attendants will get behind the wheel and drive the car over the bridge. One year, at Maryland’s Chesapeake Bay Bridge, which is over four miles long and rises two hundred feet above the water, authorities took the wheel and helped one thousand fearful motorists.

As you or your people turn on the news or pick up the paper, you may be finding yourself battling some of these same emotions. Maybe there’s a feeling of complacency that is causing you to ask, “What difference would it make anyway?” Or maybe you hear the office discussion escalating into a fear freefall. You may even be sensing a lack of motivation in you and your team. 

Is there anything you can do to stop the paranoia? You bet. Try these:

Accept what you can’t control. To experience life at its fullest you should continually set goals and strive for growth. But remember, the goals you set are preferences. Aim higher than you’re willing to settle for. That way, even missing your goal can be an improvement over your current state. It’s vitally important that we acknowledge that we will control what we can but accept what we can’t.

Limit the amount of negative input you allow each day. Don’t get me wrong. I‘m not asking you to bury your head in the sand. This is an uncertain time. Our natural tendency is to want to watch what’s happening on a moment-by-moment basis. It gives us a feeling of control in what seems like an out of control world. We have cable TV running in the break room. We are constantly surfing the Internet. We pick up the daily paper and check our stock status. Replace the negative with any kind of positive information.

Take action. The cure for fear is action. Fear is an out of control feeling of hopelessness. One of the easiest things you can do to battle it is to take action to improve something...anything. Maybe that something is your health, your showroom, your people, and your business identity within the community. There’s something empowering about managing the things you can control.

Confirm your commitment to your people and their success. Leaders often forget the power of their influence. Your words and attitudes weigh heavy on the performance of your people. If you walk around in a negative funk recounting all that’s going wrong in the economy, you’re encouraging your people to become complacent, or at the least be surprised by success. Realistically identify the current situation, but don’t dwell there. As much as possible, let your employees know that you are committed to them. Let them know you will still be giving your best and expect the same from them.

Study others’ successes. Learn as much as you can. Even in times of economic downturn, there are those who find a way to prosper and capture marketshare. Networking with these people can be very empowering. This is the reason we have dedicated so much time in our upcoming Shaw Flooring Alliance Convention to Networking/Best Practices. Dealers want to hear from other dealers, if for no other reason than to be reminded that success is still achievable.

Change. I’ve already spoken of the power of taking action, but it’s worth stating that taking the same action that brought you success during the good economic times of past years isn’t necessarily going to bring you success going forward. One of my favorite sayings is, “If you want what you’ve never had, you must do what you’ve never done.”

Become curious. Explorers risk their lives not because they’re reckless or fearless, but because they’re curious. They’re explorers yearning to go where few have ever gone before. They’re willing to question the “why” behind current practices. You too can become an explorer. You can plunge into the depths of your own limitations and discover the courage to chart a new course, a new life, a new beginning. 

In closing, I challenge you to resolve to live the life of your dreams. Surround yourself with winners, people with an “I Can” attitude. Challenge yourself to live at your best. Kick down the barriers and realize that though fear may be a speed bump, rarely is it a roadblock.

Copyright 2008 Floor Focus 

Related Topics:Fuse Alliance, Shaw Industries Group, Inc., Fuse