What needs to keep burning?
The Change Question: What needs to keep burning?
Years ago on a podcast I heard someone say, “You just have to let some things keep burning.”
Immediately, I felt the anxiety of that … and, at the same time, suddenly imagined the freedom of it.
The pod guest was speaking about rapid scaling of a start up. I’ve never done that Silicon Valley thing, but I’ve no doubt it’s an increasingly desperate dance between creating a product people want, finding an audience that’s big and juicy enough, not running out of money, and shouting “Pivot!” a lot.
It’s not quite as frantic and existential for practitioners of change … although, perhaps, only just. I don’t know many of us who are, let’s say, chill.
For any transformation, something’s on fire now or something’s going to be on fire shortly.
It’s broken, or it’s about to be.
That means pain, grief, confusion, doubt, ambiguity … for you, and for the people going through the transformation with you.
You have permission to look around you at what’s broken and burning, and admit, as much as a part of you would like to make it all better …
You need to focus on what matters most.
Stillness will often be better than reaction.
To put out all the fires means things not changing.
You are still compassionate, generous, empathetic.
Some things need to keep burning.
I’m glad you’re here and doing this work.
Pod Wisdom: The change strategy EVERYONE tends to miss
Leidy Klotz, from the Change Signal episode "Your Brain's Dangerous Change Blind Spot":
"Why, when we're trying to change something from how it is to how we want it to be, don't we think of subtraction as an option?"
Listen to my full conversation with Leidy now
Leidy Klotz is the author of Subtract: The Untapped Science of Lesson.
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The Last Word
"Beyond the mountains, more mountains.”
~ Haitian proverb
