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A societal or organizational vision based on harnessing fear and anger will typically fail over the long term. Basing a vision on shared values stands a much greater chance of solving real problems and creating something people want.

The recent failures of the MAGA movement in the U.S. elections offer a case study of uninspiring visions. Turns out that blind obedience to one man and baseless accusations don’t attract a critical mass of voters.

Fear-based visions are the nutritional equivalent of a candy bar: satisfying in the moment, but ultimately won’t sustain you for long. When the rush wears off, it leaves you exhausted and frustrated for being unable to tackle what’s in front of you.

Instead, basing a vision on shared values is more like brown rice and broccoli. Might be less satisfying to the senses, but offers much greater long-term energy and potential to do hard work.

Striving to realize shared American values like equality, justice for all, and innovation can help this country to live up to its full potential. Other values like continuous improvement, compassion, and contribution can help anyone or any organization to succeed.

Read the transcript for this episode: http://projectindra.org/apotheosis-podcast/episode-31-vision-based-on-values-not-fear/

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American culture bombards men with images of who they’re meant to be. Often these images portray men as tough guys who value winning at all costs, playing by their own set of rules.

The problem is that this image of masculinity is a fabrication – a marketing campaign dreamed up in a Madison Avenue conference room to sell more products to men.

Being a “real man” doesn’t mean being a relentless winning machine and doesn’t need someone else to be weak. 

Secure masculinity means competing with yourself, not others, and striving for constant growth. It means empowering others and celebrating the success of other people, even when they’re different. It means being genuine and living by a set of values. It means contribution and sacrifice.

Listen to the full transcript here: 
http://projectindra.org/apotheosis-podcast/episode-30-manufacturing-masculinity/

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Every organism occupies its own unique sensory world, arising from the combination of sensory apparatuses it possesses. We can never truly know what it’s like to perceive the world through the “eyes” of another being.

Imagine being in the depths of a cave. You can hear the water dripping, feel slippery rock under your feet, and smell the guano. But you can’t see a thing. Your eyes can’t gather information in the total darkness of the cave. Where you suffer, though, other animals thrive.

In this same environment, cave-dwelling bats, spiders, salamanders, snails, and crickets have an entirely different experience. Their sensory apparatuses allow them to perceive details we cannot. These unique sensory experiences demonstrate a concept in biology called “umwelt.”

All sentient beings have an individual, subjective experience of their environment. You, me, and other humans – along with every cat, dog, snail, lizard, fish, or any other sentient being, for that matter – we are all subjects, the protagonists in our own stories. Our umwelt.

Each living being (or at least every human) sees its own reality as the “right” view. But this is just a mental bias. Just because we have a picture of the world in our brains, that doesn’t mean we have the most accurate picture of our environment.

What might we be missing?

Transcript and other resources: http://projectindra.org/apotheosis-podcast/episode-29-how-to-see-like-a-bat/

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The fight-or-flight response can keep us alive when faced with a threat. But our brains often prepare us for battle even when the threats are just words or thoughts. Pausing before responding to perceived threats helps expand our options.

When we’re under attack, we don’t always have time to think. When perceiving a threat, the body responds automatically, increasing blood flow, dilating the pupils, and shutting down non-essential systems in the body. The brain readies the body to fight or flee. The fight-or-flight response has served the animal kingdom well for countless eons. However, humans face a far more complex world. Our brains don’t always differentiate between an actual, physical threat and one posed by words. An email, a social media post, or even a thought about a possible problem in the future can trigger the fight-or-flight response. Yet the brain can rely on the context to flip between feeling threatened and feeling excited. A lion in the grass ahead could cause us to flee in panic – unless that same lion is behind a barrier at the zoo. Recognizing the context can diminish the grip of the fight-or-flight reflex.

Several actions can help create some space so that we can assess our options: pausing and taking a few deep breaths, labeling our emotions, and noticing sensations in the body. With this space, we can better see the context, question the threat, and devise reasonable responses.

See the full transcript and additional resources here: http://projectindra.org/apotheosis-podcast/episode-28-to-fight-or-not-to-fight

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Reality dictates that we will face difficulties ahead. As the pandemic showed us, it’s easy to succumb to panic, anxiety, and any number of largely unproductive coping mechanisms like hoarding toilet paper. Calmly facing down difficulty requires intentional effort. 

Barbara Frederickson’s Broaden-and-Build theory offers one helpful perspective for cultivating calm and clarity. Negative emotions like fear or anger narrow our view. In contrast, positive emotions broaden our sense of possibilities and build valuable mental resources that serve us now and in the future.

According to Frederickson, positive emotions also have an added benefit she calls the “undoing effect.” When our body and mind get riled up in fight or flight mode, positive emotions cool the fires, bringing us back to a normal resting state.

Grounding techniques can also help to cut through the mental noise of anxiety by connecting us to the present moment. Paying attention to sensory perceptions like sounds, colors, textures, and physical sensations can calm the mind and help us to think clearly.

For references and further reading, check out:
http://projectindra.org/apotheosis-podcast/episode-27-undoing-negative-with-positive/

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When you wake up today, there is a strong chance you will encounter someone rude or antagonistic. Coworkers, employees, bosses, or clients will frustrate you. Politicians will be corrupt, inept, or both. Can you be calm despite these difficulties? 

Stoicism teaches us that we are capable of maintaining a tranquil mind – one that is unphased by the challenges we will inevitably face. Tranquility allows us to think more clearly and experience joy despite our circumstances.

How can we achieve this state? One way is to do less – as Marcus Aurelius wrote, to ask ourselves, “is this one of the unnecessary things?” We should focus only on those activities that matter and ignore frivolous or wasteful things.

The trichotomy of control provides a useful framework: there are things we cannot control at all, things we can control, and things over which we have partial control. Don’t waste time on the first; focus on the latter two.

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No matter how hard we try, we cannot avoid setbacks, discomfort, or other difficulties in our lives. These turbulent winds will continue to blow no matter how hard we fight against them. In the latest episode of Apotheosis, I explore some Buddhist insights for cultivating calm even when the storms are raging all around us.

Pointing out the futility of trying to stop the wind, Buddhist meditation master Yongey Mingyur Rinpoche describes another option: rather than being the flag, getting beaten around by the winds, we can be the flagpole. The flagpole stands tall and steady no matter how wildly the storm might rage.

We don’t have to react to every thought or feeling we have; and we don’t need to react to everything that other people say or do. Some things are worth our reaction, while others are not. When we do react, we’re far more likely to achieve positive outcomes if we stay calm. 

Buddhist meditation practices like object-based meditation help to train the mind, much like physical exercise trains the body. These practices help us to cultivate a sense of calm, even when the winds are howling all around us.

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My first night at sea was almost my last. Over 20 years ago, I set sail on a 70 foot sailboat from New York harbor in the middle of January. That night, we were hit by a brutal storm. Snow fell in horizontal sheets while massive waves periodically and unpredictably rose out of the darkness to smash into the deck. I looked out and saw 360 degrees of icy death – there would be no way of surviving going overboard in those conditions. Over the next few hours, the captain guided us to haul on ropes and crank the winches when needed, providing the muscle to wrestle the boat into a manageable course. His calm, focused confidence kept us alive that night.

How does one develop such calm under fire? How can each of us cultivate the capacity to face danger, difficulty, or any other intensely stressful circumstances? (And we’ve sure got plenty of those these days).

In this latest episode of the Apotheosis podcast, I kick off a series on this topic, looking at techniques and practices for cultivating calm in even the most stressful times.

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How much is too much? Or not enough? If we work too hard, we get burned out. Work too little, and we go nowhere. If we’re too fearful, we never take risks and thus miss opportunities. Or if we’re overconfident, we rush into situations that we’re grossly unprepared for and make costly errors. 

Finding the answer to this question of “how much?” dates at least back to Aristotle, who explored this question in his Doctrine of the Mean. Often called the Golden Mean, this insight guides us to avoid the extremes of excess and deficiency – finding the sweet spot that helps us achieve our goals.

I just published the first episode in season 2 of my podcast, Apotheosis. This episode introduces Aristotle’s doctrine and the immeasurable value of finding that golden mean.

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Imagine you just had the best day ever. You had a major win, everything went your way. You’re floating on cloud nine. But then maybe a coworker said something to undermine your success – just joking, they said, although sure didn’t sound like it. Suddenly all the elation evaporates. One negative remark has the potential to completely derail our happiness. One negative incident outweighs ten positive things.

In this final episode of season 1 of the Changemakers Field Guide, I examine this tendency to fixate on the negative – and insights on how we can flip the script. This episode concludes a series on dealing with people, exploring some insights from neuroscience on how we cultivate healthier relationships. Making the effort to forge better connections pays off tenfold: helping us collaborate better, make a bigger impact, and enjoy better physical and mental health.