A weekly thought for leaders with the courage to introspect.
Trust: The Art of Not Being Freezed by Fear
I once witnessed a reorganization firsthand. More than 75 jobs were lost. One in five employees was laid off.
And as always happens: before the axe fell, uncertainty reigned. Rumors. Confusion.
What surprised me the most?
How people dealt with that uncertainty.
I saw everything:
Apathy. Insomnia. Anger. Impending divorce. Budding alcoholism.
But also:
Resilience. Perspective. Acceptance. Humor.
Trust: The Art of Not Being Freezed by Fear
I once witnessed a reorganization firsthand. More than 75 jobs were lost. One in five employees was laid off.
And as always happens: before the axe fell, uncertainty reigned. Rumors. Confusion.
What surprised me the most?
How people dealt with that uncertainty.
I saw everything:
Apathy. Insomnia. Anger. Impending divorce. Budding alcoholism.
But also:
Resilience. Perspective. Acceptance. Humor.
And especially something else struck me.
I naively thought that the older generation would handle the situation most wisely.
People between 48 and 63. Wise. Experienced. Seasoned.
I thought so.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Mental hygiene – keeping your mind clean – did not necessarily appear to be more prevalent there.
What was that in?
In a word: fear.
My generation grew up with the emerging prosperity.
We had subsidies, benefits, opportunities. Life seemed self-evidently good.
But it was not real freedom.
We became prosperous. But not resilient.
And when certainties disappear – your job, your money, your health – fear strikes.
Fear that you don't recognize becomes your limitation.
Fear that you do not acknowledge becomes your pitfall.
That's why mental hygiene is so important.
Your garden doesn't have to be neat.
Not your administration.
Not your Instagram feed.
Your brain needs to be cleared.
Decluttering is letting go. Decluttering is acknowledging that things are out of your control—and that's okay.
What helps?
→ Put yourself in a broader perspective
→ Rinse your head daily
→ Don't see adversity as a destination but as a crossroads
→ Train resilience: body in motion, mind at rest
→ Practice trusting yourself
Because trust is the opposite of fear.
Trust is freedom.
I saw it during that reorganization.
Interestingly enough, it was the thirty-somethings and early forties who held up the best.
Maybe because they were raised more freely.
Maybe because they've learned that life is capricious.
Those who are free know: adversity is part of life.
And those who have faith know: there is always a next step.
That is not a naive belief.
That's a trained attitude.
Living in trust does not mean that nothing happens to you.
But: nothing happens to you without you being able to deal with it.
And that is perhaps the most beautiful freedom there is.
The space between the words is where insight arises.
Until next week when our thoughts touch again.
Hans Ruinemans, Boardroom Monk ☯️