5 tips to leave wicked problems and fear behind 

wicked problems and fear

Curiosity will conquer fear even more than bravery will.~James Stephens, Irish novelist, and poet (1880-1950)

I don’t know about you, but I am ready to leave the wicked problems of Covid-19 and its contaminating fear behind. In case you are unfamiliar with the term, “wicked problem” is defined by Wikipedia as “one that is difficult or impossible to solve because of incomplete, contradictory, and changing requirements that are often difficult to recognize.” Sound familiar? It should. The past two years have been disheartening, to say the least, especially for academics. I am ready to let go of all that frustration and fear and move on.

 

 

Letting go of fear

It seems clear that Covid in one form or another will be with us from this time forward. As Franklin Roosevelt asserted in his first inaugural address on March 4, 1933, “[First] let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is…fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance.” Fear can be a great motivator and propel you forward, or it can paralyze you from taking any action. Keep reading to see the 5 tips to help you move away from fear and wicked problems.

Throw yourself into something you love

I believe that throwing yourself into the part of the job you love as an academic will help motivate you and keep fear at bay. What is the passion at the core of what you do? Is it the love of teaching, elegant laboratory experiments, an illuminating theorem, a beautifully composed poem, or a piece of prose? What are the ideas that excite you and bring you joy? Despite all of the problems of academia, too numerous to document here, there is a profound pleasure in pursuing an intellectual life that draws people into academia in the first place. Return to that grounding, and you may find it is easier to leave fear and wicked problems behind than you might have thought at first.

Practice living in “The Guest House”

I love the poem “The Guest House” by the 13th-century Sufi mystic Rumi. If you don’t know it, here are the opening lines:

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!

The 5 tips to help you move away from fear and wicked problems

1. Welcome fear as a friend. It can be a wake-up call that you are on the brink of something new. You may find that embracing fear instead of running away can create inspired action. See fear as just another passing emotion, here to greet you and ask you to pay attention for a bit. But not forever. Don’t let it move in with you.

2. Listen to what fear has to say. Rumi might say, “Share a cup of tea with your friend.” What are you being told? What are you being asked to do? What is the worst possible outcome? How many awful scenarios can your friend concoct?

3. Write down the fears…and the actions you might take to counteract them. Morning journal pages can be a great place for letting out your worries and concerns, and recognizing these are feelings, not necessarily reality. Writing things down keeps you from obsessively ruminating or worse, perseverating, inside your head.

4. Say goodbye. Ok, you’ve treated fear as a guest and shared a cup of tea. Time to say goodbye, and gently let the fear go on its way. Fear will return, of course, but for now, you can close the door and turn back to whatever fuels your aspirations. Pick up the paintbrush, open that computer file for your own writing, scribble those formulas on your notepad.

5. Move forward remembering you do not have to know everything. Life unfolds. So does your research. Teaching always unfolds in the classroom, sometimes in the most unpredictable and delightful ways. Let your knowledge guide you and be willing to learn anew. It’s what we’ve all been doing throughout the Covid pandemic, right? Just stay aware of your goals and work mindfully. And if the goals shift with new information, that is perfectly fine.

Now act

Once you have gently listened to fear, it’s time to act. None of us can solve a wicked problem on our own, but you may just have the piece that others need to move us all forward in a more positive way. In other words, “Do what you can, with what you’ve got, where you are.”

Although this statement is attributed to Theodore Roosevelt, TR attributed it to William “Squire Bill” Widener, a prominent community leader in Widener’s Valley, Virginia in Theodore Roosevelt:  An Autobiography (1913). Doing what gives you joy will help you do it better.

I am grateful for fear’s guidance as we muddled through the now ebbing wicked problem of the Covid pandemic. It kept me from getting sick, and kept the people around me well, too. I’m now ready to reengage and rediscover the joy of an intellectual life—in the literal presence of other people. That’s part of what gives me joy.

How about you? What part of your passion acts as your antidote to fear?

If you still feel you are stuck dealing with the fear of wicked problems, schedule a free 20-minute session with Hillary.

 

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