What hard questions are you avoiding?

Do you know what I can't resist?

Caramelised onions.

Seriously, if I see those things anywhere on a menu - I'm done. I'm sold. The rest of the menu is dead to me.

There's something about the combo of sweet and savoury that I just need to have in my belly.

I reckon it's similar to engaging people in times of rapid change.

There's this fine balance between:

• The savoury nutrition of realism: being honest and telling it like it is, and...
• The sweet delights of optimism: staying upbeat and maintaining a sense of possibility.

In recent weeks, the pendulum has been stalling on the negativity side.

We're in a recession!

It's going to be a long one!

We're all hurting!

Yeah, for sure it's tough. But we can't let that become the only story.

Because you know what else is true?

• You're safe from harm right now. Phew.
• You're leading a team of amazing people who want to do great work. Yes!
• You're reading this on a device that connects you the biggest web of information humanity has ever created. Wow!

It's easy to forget these everyday miracles when we're surrounded by doom and gloom headlines. And that can lead us to rash decisions or avoiding the hard questions we need to tackle.

What questions are you avoiding?

When we avoid questions, it creates a void - a negative space in our brains.

In a tight economic climate, we stop asking questions like:

• How does this align with our core values?
• What do our customers/clients/citizens need the most right now?
• What's the opportunity for us in this tight environment?
  

Instead, we get stuck hustling and doing.

At least, that's how I've been responding recently. Is it just me?

I'm trying to figure out what drives me to work myself into the ground. I'm my own boss and I love my work - so I don't do it out of obligation. What else might be going on?

Raise your gaze

When there's lots of talk of doing more with less, it narrows our focus to efficiency.

That is - how can we do what we're already doing, but faster?

Our gaze falls to the terrain one step in front of us. Answer the email. Attend the meeting. Push things forward.

Just.

Keep.

Going.

The more powerful approach in resource-constrained times is to focus on effectiveness.

That is - how can we do what matters the most?

But it's a tough question to even consider when you're under the pump. Raising your gaze to that sort of question requires some space. And that may feel impossible when you're on an unstoppable treadmill.

Mentoring is the one thing that consistently lifts my gaze in tough times. In the last month, it's the only thing that's been able to pull me out of my self-sabotaging hustle.

And it makes me wonder: who's the mentor in your corner right now?