Silver bullet
Photo: Feverpitch
…but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 (NRSV)
If I can’t get it in two days (with free shipping), I don’t want it.
One of my favorite comedy series released only four episodes of its newest season. I had to wait several months until the rest of the episodes dropped. I was incensed (sort of).
Technology is great, but it’s ruining me. The bigger picture is that we’ve become a society that wants it now.
This wouldn’t be so bad if it were limited to shopping and entertainment. But it has influenced nearly all aspects of life, including how we communicate, consume our news and even engage in politics.
In A Failure of Nerve: Leadership in the Age of the Quick Fix, Edwin Friedman writes that one characteristic of a chronically anxious society is the desire for a quick fix. We don’t want to go through the long, often painful, process required to create lasting change. So we look for the latest program, hire an “expert,” or search for a miracle drug and expect immediate results. We elect politicians who promise a quick fix and are disappointed when they don’t deliver.
Most worthwhile things take time. This is true for our health, spiritual well-being and vocation. It’s especially true for the bigger challenges in life.
In 1998, Katalin Kariko, a biochemist, and Drew Weissman, an immunologist, struck up a conversation while waiting to use the copier for their jobs at the University of Pennsylvania. They discovered that they both had an interest in messenger RNA, or mRNA, as a new way to deliver vaccinations.
A traditional vaccine works by injecting a weakened or inactive amount of pathogen into the body to develop an immune response. Kariko and Weissman theorized that mRNA could be used to trigger an immune response without ever exposing the body to any pathogens.
The partners began testing their hypothesis without much success. In 2005, they had a breakthrough that seemed to open up infinite possibilities to use mRNA to prevent and treat illness and disease. They published their findings and expected their phones to ring off the hook from people interested in developing vaccines and disease therapies. Nobody called.
They persisted. They secured patents and launched a company, RNARx in 2006. The company eventually ran out of funding and shut down. Five years after publishing their findings, they finally attracted the interest of two new biotech companies, Moderna and BioNTech.
Over two decades after their initial conversation at the Penn copy machine, COVID-19 emerged. The rest is history. The mRNA technology developed by Kariko and Weissman was the basis for a vaccine that was developed in a fraction of the 5-10 years that it normally takes.
Where would we be if the pair had given up?
Non-anxious leaders rely on their goals and values to guide their work, fuel their motivation and bolster their perseverance. They know there is no such thing as a quick fix. Kariko and Weissman are just one example. Thank God for that.
Reflection Questions:
How is God calling you to change the world?
What frustrations and challenges are involved?
How can you persist as a non-anxious leader?
Recommendations
This week's recommendations will help you to grow as a non-anxious leader.
5 Tips to Become an Authentic Leader by Drew Calvert. Self-differentiated leaders are authentic. They know their own goals and values and are able to communicate these WHILE remaining emotionally connected. This article shows you how.
How Your Ego Controls Your Life (And How to Stop It) from The Knowledge Project. In this seven-minute excerpt, Shane Parish interviews mindfulness teacher, Loch Kelly, about the ego. The way Kelly describes it, the ego is responsible for our automatic (adaptive and reactive) responses to anxiety, stress and challenge. He also describes a state where well-being comes from within, not from external circumstances (think self-differentiation). Note: I watched this at 1.5X so it only took five minutes.
Podcast
Episode 196 of The Non-Anxious Leader Podcast, Leadership through Self-Differentiation – Emotional Process, is now available.
That's it for this week. Thanks for reading.
Peace,
Jack
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