Tension is what Holds Everything Together
The Ethical Lexicon #7: "Just chill" is not always the answer
Is there really any such thing as good or bad character traits? The answer may not be as simple as you think.
An ethics ninja recognizes that there’s a vast difference between good and bad, between yes and no, between black and white.
🥷Misdirected generosity can lead to enabling and entitlement.
🥷Misapplied compassion can lead to violations of justice.
🥷Sometimes we really do need to be cruel to be kind.
What about anxiety? Is it always good to be chill, or can tension be not only beneficial but absolutely essential?
That’s the topic of this week’s column of The Ethical Lexicon.
The human condition is paradoxical. We have to balance opposing and often irreconcilable elements of our own personalities and the personalities of others. These include:
🥷Action vs. passivity
🥷Introversion vs. extroversion
🥷Youthfulness vs. maturity
🥷Flexibility vs. firmness
🥷Individualism vs. community
🥷Leadership vs. followership
🥷Western vs. Eastern
Ethical leaders create a culture in which the challenges of managing our contradictory natures drives collaboration and interdependence so that, together, we emerge stronger than we ever could on our own.