…today’s secret…No Man’s Land.

It was there during World War I. It was the killing field between two dug-in armies.

It was called No Man’s Land for a reason. You risked death by entering it.

Neither army controlled these few hundred yards of Earth. It was simply a stretch of land that separated two opposing forces.

You have a No Man’s Land in your organization. Fortunately, it’s not dangerous and only inches wide. It’s your organization’s front door.

Your front door separates two opposing forces, the world outside your organization and the world inside your organization.

Go, stand in your front door…right under the frame.

Face your outside world first.

Look at the cars whizzing by, the drivers and passengers currently oblivious to what you do. Beyond them are billions of people who don’t even know you exist.

Many people in your outside world are at war with themselves. Their lives are under constant assault with worry, fear, stress, and anxiety.

You really have no control over their wars.

Now, turn around, look to your inside world. Look at your co-workers.

These are the people you have joined in a just cause to fight for the underdog somehow someway. No one forced you. You opted in.

Unfortunately, the worry, fear, stress, and anxiety in the outside world always creeps into the inside world of an organization.

Some of your co-workers are worried, fearful, stressed, and anxious about something right now. Some are feeling pressure to act, perform, conform, stand out, or maybe advance. Some are maybe thinking about their future.

Some may be wondering if your organization knows what it is doing. Any organization could do what you do, right? Nothing special going on here. Maybe you’re a fully blown imposter organization who has lost sight of the just cause that brought you together.

Are you one of these co-workers?

If so, STOP IT!

First, your organization matters more than you think. It may not be as good as you want, but, please accept that people like what you do and come to you for help. We are all works in progress. You and your organization do matter.

Second, living a worrisome, fearful, stressed, or anxiety – free life is a choice. Don’t let the pressures of life overwhelm you. Refuse to give in. Rise above these feelings.

Resist them with these words, “I will keep calm.” Say them out loud. “I will keep calm.”

Now, as you stand in your organization’s front door, your No Man’s Land, turn again to the outside world and shout loudly in your own words that any worry, fear, stress, or anxiety trying to get inside dies right here right now.

Then, once again, quietly, turn around to your co-workers and give them a wry little smile.

“Carry on people. Carry on.”