I made a mistake at work. It went on my permanent record. It happened because there was a tiger in my office.
Or at least, my brain thought there was a tiger. What really happened is that I misunderstood something. I thought our team needed to do one thing, but in truth, we were supposed to do something else. But that’s not what caused the trouble for me.
Trouble came when I let myself believe and behave as if that mistake was as dangerous to me as a tiger.
Our brains don’t differentiate between a tiger that can kill us and a social faux pas that could get us tossed off our social island. For most of our history, the two things amounted to the same result. Death.
So when I goofed up, I got scared. I treated a paper tiger as if it were a real tiger and overreacted. Not good. I got called out on my actions. Deserved.
When at work, I remind myself – these issues are paper tigers. They can’t kill me, but jumping out a window to escape them, just might.
I wrote that lesson down years ago. This week I was in a meeting and someone IM’d me “Paper Tigers!”
This weekend I reflected on Lesson 15 – Don’t Hide It & Lesson 25 – Paper Tigers.
I felt my blood pressure come down, I talked for hours to people I love about things that have nothing to do with tigers or policies.
I remembered that each of us is capable, resilient and that we have everything we need here and now, in this one minute we’re inhabiting.
I wish you all good fortune and prosperity. I wish you a pair of scissors. I wish you the tools you need to discern a paper tiger from the real thing.
And That? Is All I’ve Got For You Today.