Addressing fear

Don’t bring a spreadsheet to a fear fight.

Change causes fear. And change is all around us.

The fear of the unknown. The fear of failure. The fear of uncertainty.

Mostly, we’d like safety. And when the world changes, safety feels like it’s in short supply.

One reason we have security theatre is that the performance of security often creates more of the feeling we seek than actual safety.

Taking your shoes off before you enter the airport. Installing a giant, clunky, loud, armored garage door. Viewing strangers with suspicion. Using false proxies and useless shortcuts to insulate ourselves (or seek to do so) from the changes and the unknowns we fear.

Statistics rarely overcome stories.

So what does?

Familiarity. And conversation.

“What would make you feel safe?” is a different approach than “there’s nothing to be afraid of.”

Until we get familiar enough with the new status quo, what performance would be a helpful way to create the feeling of safety?

What if we could create even more of that feeling with a different approach?

And while we’re at it, what if we spent time becoming familiar with the thing you’re afraid of?

The most useful spreadsheets and facts are the ones that fearful people create to help them see their world differently.