Fear, faith, hope, mindfulness,

     This week, I have had a few meetings in where I was worried about the outcomes only to find that they turned out much better than I expected. It reminded me of studies of learned optimism by Dr. Seligman. Some people are programmed to look at the bright side of things. As has been often stated, looking at the glass as half full. This characteristic is powerful in leadership, as research has shown that the emotional energy of leaders is transferred to the follower. Persistence, a leadership quality, is also linked to optimism; people persist when they have hope and faith that their efforts will yield results.

     I link optimism to the term hope in religious context. Christian scripture talks about the importance of maintaining hope. Psalms 32:10 recites that "Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord". The bible shows that there are times in leadership where hope has been lost with poor effects on the leader and their followers. It also shows the power of hope to transcend death and the best efforts by the powerful and resourceful to stamp out the organization and movement.

     This led me to think this morning on my prayer walk of where we put our trust. Where we put our trust dictates what changes will determine a change in our hope and our well-being. For example, if we put our trust in our bank account, then when the account depletes, a person will lose hope. If a person puts their hope in another person and that person doesn't come through, then their hope diminishes. I think of stories of campaign managers who see their candidate change once they have power and become jaded or a person who puts their trust in a lover only to have that person let them down and are devastated. Conversely, we see mini-lessons in sports where an awful occurrence happens in a game that should have ended any chances of a win, only to have a comeback.

     Yesterday I read a passage that really put the issue in perspective. Those who put their trust in the Lord shall not live in fear. In fact, those who put their trust in God shall be strengthened. "31 but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint." God, being constant, gives us a consistency in a universe that is in constant change. Our bank accounts may change, the political powers may change, conflicts come and they go, business cycles change, laws change, jobs change, but God and his love for us never changes. That is a powerful resource for people, especially leaders.
     I used to think it unrealistic the charge Jesus gave of not worrying. Worrying is part of having a brain. We naturally look out for danger. However, neurology has shown us the deteriorating effects of worry on the brain. Life has also given me the belief that the things we see coming are rarely the things that leave us blindsided. It is the things we cannot see. That is where a primary trust in God allows us to focus on our work at hand as he watches over us. The lack of worry relaxes the amygdala, allowing our frontal cortex to think creatively and critically.
     Daniel Goleman explains that our focus is primary to successes and how we experience our lives. Those who are able to focus for long periods of time on a task experience better results than those who are easily distracted. Malcolm Gladwell identifies a commonality in those who are successful to their ability to spend large amounts of focused time on their pursuits. The endemic effect of worrying is that there is no location you can go to get away from it. There has to be a way for you to internally justify moving your attention away from it. In some cases, there are things one can do to address worries. For other issues, one has to put faith in something. How good it is we can put our faith in something constant.