Face your tigers

If you live and work in the part of the world where tigers live, and a tiger were to come upon you suddenly, what would be your first (human) instinct? Run!  Yes!  Run!  At that point, however, 6 million years of evolutionary training kicks in: The tiger’s eyes see a small, slow figure running away, the yummy one with the crunchy center, the tiger’s brain says.  ’LUNCH’ with great delight, and the tiger runs you down and kills you, either eating you or saving you for later.
The bottom line: if you run away from a tiger, your chances of survival are essentially zero.  But, they say, if you turn and face the tiger, you may stand a chance.  Let’s be clear, he may still eat you!  This is not some magic story here.  But he will stop for a moment and think about it first. 
So in the simple act of facing the tiger, you have created, not a guarantee, but a possibility, a possibility that wasn’t there before. Run, and your chances of getting away are zero. Face the tiger, and your chances are something greater than zero. That’s all, just a chance, but it’s significantly better than certain death.
What ‘tigers’ do you need to face in your life? Situations you know you need to turn and face. People you know you need to speak to about something bothering you-or affecting your organization, or family or community. How could you ‘face’ them? What could happen if you did? What is the possibility facing that tiger could create-and what is the fear that stops you?
Because, let’s face it, (so to speak), if you are not facing one of your ‘tigers’, it’s already eating you. . .