Harvard Business Publishing

Don't you just wish you could be at those meetings in Washington? I mean really. Imagine it.

Last week...

"Wow, George, I never thought I'd say this, but 'I agree.'"

"I don't get the math. Do you get the math?"

"Poor Ben. Alan's skating on this one."

"But where will the 700 billion dollars go?"

"Did someone consult the numerologist? Is 700 really the right number?"

"I think we should just go home. I'm tired."

"I heard they're calling us 'The 700 Club'."

And then...Monday...

"What the hell is in this thing? It's outta control."

"Ok, so I go back to my state/district/people/lobbyists. They're going to hate it. I won't get reelected. I'm done. No way, no how. I am not voting for this."

"It didn't pass? You kidding?"

"The market has a way of putting pressure...Oh geez, it did."

"I'm scared."

Well. I'm scared too. It's kind of like seeing the future you planned for yourself and your family flash before your eyes and then blow up and disappear. Yesterday, my 24-year old daughter Sarah said, "This is my life, my job, my future, exploding. I have goals! I have plans! How can I get there now?" My brother, an engineer who's worked for the same company for 20+ years in a small town, said, "I can see my job going away."

If ever there was a time for resonant leadership, it's now. We need to rise above panic. Panic kills. Really, it does. If you're caught in a riptide (which we are) and you freak out, flail, fight it, you will die. If you smell smoke in the house and run wildly around gathering things you will die. If you freeze in your bed and hope the smoke is outside, not inside, you'll die.

This is not a time to give in to panic. Of course we are scared. It would be stupid not to acknowledge that the economic world as we know it -- knew it -- has changed fundamentally and forever. Actually it probably changed a while ago. We just ignored it, covered it up. So we are justifiably terrified. Now what?

Let's do something with our feelings, rather than let our emotions do something to us. Fear has its place -- it gets our attention. But we can't let it paralyze us. This is a time to breathe deeply. To think about what is most important -- family, life, health, love, purpose. And for my countrymen and women -- let's think about who we are as Americans. We can move beyond fear. What's beyond fear? Hope. Creativity. Resilience. Compassion. Courage.

Back to my daughter Sarah for a minute. She's at work today, in good spirits and having fun helping to create an awesome TV special about an inspiring American hero. My brother --also at work, creating. That's what he does--he creates new solutions for new problems. And me? I'm at work too. I spent the day with my team, a group of incredible people who dedicate their lives to others.

No, it won't be easy. But yes, we can make it, and we can make a better world too. That is not a noble goal, it is a necessary goal.

A final word. Common wisdom, backed up by research: hope, optimism, good humor and compassion (among other positive emotions and experiences) can literally free us from the deadly psychological traps of panic and anger. It takes tremendous self-management. But we can do it.