Embracing Devastating Opportunities
I received a request last week from a former classmate/colleague of mine that really struck a chord with me. Nate is a design expert, and evangelist for innovation and change. He recently submitted a proposal to write a manifesto at www.changethis.com, and asked me to vote for it so that it will have a chance to be published. I’m often skeptical about such requests, but trusting Nate not to waste my time, I clicked over and read the following ...
“Disasters make change. They particularly defined 2005, from the Asian Tsunami to Hurricane Katrina. They galvanized attention and simultaneously provoked a drive for innovation, whose essential value is betterment .... Bottomline: They incite change. What lessons are afforded by disasters to innovators? This manifesto aims to provide these essential, and reoccurring, truths that contribute to the quality of not only things, but also people and places. Disasters displace, but what is never displaced is the need to make life better. This need, whatever the scale and wherever the setting, is shared by all of us, who possess the power to innovate.”
The quote excited me for a very simple reason. I adore change. Really. But at times I have a very hard time getting over my own hang-ups to pursue it. Perhaps this is why I happen to have a very strange reaction when I hear of natural disasters or earth-shaking events. My feelings are usually equal parts sorrow and devastation for those affected, and hope and awe at the new possibilities that have just opened up. A dual-edged sword.
Recharged by disaster not a feeling you can relate to? Not by any means relishing the pain, or the anger or loss, but loving the chance for sweeping change. New levee infrastructures that New Orleans has needed for years, for example. Or new relationships because old ones are cut off. Sudden moves of home and family. The chance to see humans reach out and really connect with each other. Many friends and family of mine living in Manhattan at the time of 9/11 spoke in awe of the ways people were able to communicate and listen to each other as the dust was settling. Hearts and minds opened, neighbors hugged, feelings shared that had never been spoken.
Pain and loss are truly devastating, but they also help us access parts of ourselves that we may never otherwise allow to come to the surface. The sudden death of one of my best friends, almost 6 years ago, has taught me to share my emotions, to empathize better, and to take advantage of what’s in front of me right now. Live each day fully, and enjoy it for exactly what it is. I would never have chosen that change, but when it hit, I knew there were huge changes as a result, and some of them would be incredibly good, despite the weeks of tears.
My point is simple. Plan all you want, but don’t forget to use what gets thrown in your path, regardless of how intense or tragic, and see what you can do with it. Opportunities can come in the oddest of packages, and you never know when they’ll hit. I’ll leave you with a friend’s summation of a bit of What the Bleep Do We Know, which I have yet to see ... “There's a bit in it where a guy is talking about when he wakes up and takes some time to plan his day, and then little things happen along the way, and he accepts them as part of his reality (something that he has created), and he accepts that this is possible, so he makes it easier for those kinds of things to happen every day.”
Use your opportunities. All of them.