Find the Good • Finding The Words
About This Episode
It's natural to bend toward hopelessness in heightened moments of stress and uncertainty. In those moments, I invite you to seek solid grounding in the things that you know for sure.
This short-form episode is part of the Finding The Words column, a series published every Wednesday that delivers a dose of communication insights directly to your inbox. If you like what you read, we hope you’ll subscribe to ensure you receive this each week.
-
Breaking news.
Breaking news.
It's the year of the chat box.
The latest setback for climate and the latest Supreme Court ruling.
In the latest Supreme Court ruling, the court is set to redefine.
Hey there and welcome to the Mission Forward podcast, where each week we bring you a thought provoking and perspective shifting conversation on the power of communication.
I'm Carrie Fox, your host and CEO of Mission Partners, a social impact communications firm and a certified B corporation.
Today, I've got another short form episode for you, drawn from my weekly Wednesday column, Finding the Words.
If you like what you hear, I invite you to head over to missionforward.us and sign up to get these insights delivered right to your inbox each and every Wednesday morning.
While you're there, you can check out past episodes of this podcast.
You can read some of my other weekly Wednesday writings, and you can check out my latest book, More Than Words.
You can also help me out by forwarding this show to a friend and giving the show a five-star rating, which helps make sure we get this content out to more people who can benefit from it.
All right, enough of that.
We are moving on to today's show, which is called Find the Good.
I'm going to take you back to 2019.
My oldest daughter was nine years old, and it was that year that she asked me how the President of the United States could be so mean.
She was nine when she noticed the damaging effects of someone else's actions, and she was nine when she realized how much life could feel out of her control.
She was also nine when we decided to do something about it.
Together, we decided to channel what felt like chaos and uncertainty into a little guidebook for life.
We called it Adventures in Kindness.
The book of weekly adventures was designed to empower kids and their families to actively contribute good to the world, to model kindness in leadership and to practice care for others, our world, and ourselves.
In many ways, that book represented our principles for living a good life.
It included 52 actions that people of any age could practice in moments of chaos and uncertainty.
It was our action adventure book to bring goodness back into focus.
Reading today's news cycle can feel like we're right back there again in the chaos and uncertainty.
But then I remember, there can be light for hope to shine through, even in the darkness.
And the brightest lights often come from the examples of others.
People who, despite chaos and uncertainty, create the conditions for good to take hold.
I talked about this power of hope shining through on the Mission Forward podcast with Rachel Perić, And I talk regularly about this topic with leaders who are navigating through difficult moments in their organizations.
In each of these conversations, I often remind people to stay grounded in what they can control.
Aim high and make the most of the day.
Be honest.
Do the best you can with what you have.
Leave things better than you found them.
As leaders, we have a choice.
We can stand by and feel hopeless in challenging moments, or we can contribute to the good.
It's natural to bend toward hopelessness in heightened moments of stress and uncertainty.
In those moments, I invite you to seek solid grounding in the things that you know for sure.
For me and Sophia, that grounding came in the form of a children's book.
For Rachel Perić, it came as a groundbreaking state of welcoming report.
Grounding is lovely like this, as it can come in many forms.
Whether seeking to lead more effectively, connect more authentically, or act more intentionally, a set of guiding principles can help direct your actions, inform your decisions, and guide your intentions.
As the co-author of a children's book on kindness, I recognize the great responsibility to consistently live out the message of that book, and to hold myself accountable for my words and actions.
I maintain this work as a practice, which means I'll falter and sometimes fail, but I can always return home and reground myself in what matters.
Bottom line, it is easy to become overwhelmed by the uncertainty and the chaos around us.
It's natural to feel lost.
When you do, pause and take stock of the light you carry.
Because in moments of chaos, my friend, you can always be the change.
And that brings us to the end of another episode of Mission Forward.
If you like what you heard today, I hope you'll stop right now and give this show a five-star rating wherever you are listening to this podcast.
Maybe even forward it to a friend who you think would enjoy today's conversation.
And of course, check out the show notes for all of the links referenced in today's show.
Mission Forward is produced with the support and wisdom of Pete Wright and the True Story production team, as well as the wonderful Sadie Lockhart of Mission Partners.
You can learn more about our work over at missionforward.us.
And of course, reach out to me anytime at carry at mission.partners.
Thanks for tuning in today, friend, and I'll see you next time.
Thank you.
