No Hope, No Fear
/For years, I have been reading taglines that people put under their signatures on emails and other correspondence. Most are quotes from politicians, philosophers, religious leaders, writers, and others.
Some quotes I could not equate with the person—it did not jive with what I knew of that person. Others matched the person head on.
I could never find a quote that matched me. I was beginning to think there was something wrong with me. I felt naked.
I know what you’re thinking: For God’s sake, it is just a quote. Yet, it was not just a quote. The tagline represents a stake in the ground. A flag. Readers may not remember the content of an email, but they tend to remember the tagline.
Two that come to mind for me are: "The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see." Winston Churchill; and “We don’t rise to the level of our expectations, we fall to the level of our training.” Archilochus.
And if you are dealing with business colleagues and customers, that little line may be a part of winning or losing a contract, so real care needs to be taken, especially today when it seems like everyone is offended.
Still, I want a tagline. I want my flag. So here is the criteria I used to find mine:
I wanted the quote to be my words. Not someone else's thoughts.
I wanted it to represent action—not religion, politics, or some feel good bit of therapy.
I wanted feedback from others. What did they think? Was this hot air taking up space? Did it truly relate and tell a story about me?
After many years, I came up with my flag: No Hope, No Fear.
It is a line I have used for years to sync my mind before an endeavor—writing, sports, or otherwise.
No Hope relates to something I have told staff many times: “Hope is not a management tool.” You can hope all day, but it will not solve the issue so get to work analyzing the issue and work the problem. No Hope also reminds me—before a golf shot, for instance—to do the work needed to execute. Do not hope not to hit it in the water.
No Fear is a reminder to take the tension out of an activity. Tension in the mind or body restricts a relaxed and calm execution, whether it’s a hard discussion with staff or hitting a golf shot. Virtually everyone can read and feel that tension. Let it go. This may include visualizing a meeting or a sport activity, training and practice, mindset, and other techniques. Breathe and calmly execute.
I am not sure why it took so long for me to discover a line that I had been using for some time, but I think it represents me well. I hope people ask me what it means. A nice place to start a discussion.
Pat