Power Paradox

The power paradox is this: We rise in power and make a difference in the world due to what is best about human nature, but we fall from power due to what is worst. We gain a capacity to make a difference in the world by enhancing the lives of others, but the very experience of having power and privilege leads us to behave, in our worst moments, like impulsive, out-of-control sociopaths.
How we handle the power paradox guides our personal and work lives and determines, ultimately, how happy we and the people we care about will be. It determines our empathy, generosity, civility, innovation, intellectual rigor, and the collaborative strength of our communities and social networks. Its ripple effects shape the patterns that make up our families, neighborhoods, and workplaces, as well as the broader patterns of social organization that define societies and our current political struggles.

If you really want to fully grasp the underlying meaning of that zinger of an open, please read it again. Got it? Outstanding.

If you are considering the personal pragmatic application of the paradox, as I did, an interesting pattern emerges. A pattern that merits, I believe, some discussion.

We are in week five of our notoriously challenging Super Eight protocol. I have detailed the drill many times and spoken of the ways and means, the strategies and tactics, the focus and presence required for success. Many times. Yet I always feel compelled to repeat the disclaimer proclaiming that ‘success’ or power in this case, is relative and subject to no other comparison than to self. If (always a big if) you have successfully executed the drill (30 seconds at max followed by 90 seconds of recovery done 8 times) to the best of your ability - despite sometimes dramatic reduction in overall, peak or average power - and IF (that pesky conjunction again) you can negotiate a resolution with the central governor (the CEO of You Inc.) to keep your EFFORT at the required level, I DON’T AND YOU SHOULDN’T be fixated on power alone. Like the road, it is the goal, not the destination. We are more concerned with the process than the result. This could be compared to allegiance to the present moment as we recognize that the end result will be accommodated from our due diligence with focus on the now. Have a powerful now and the then will take care of itself. That is the power of the now.

We run (or ride) into trouble when, as so eloquently pointed out in the open, that our power is corrupted when we compromise. I am at my best when I feel empowered by my effort in the present moment, in my example, during that daunting 30 seconds of all-out power. Where I get into trouble is when I plea bargain to a lesser level because I somehow feel entitled to a break. WHAT? Truth.

I have absolute power over my effort. There is nobody here or abywhere to intimidate, inspire or motivate my sorry ass. If it is to be (and I want it to be) it is up to me. What the author illustrates above is the level of corruption available to us as our power increases and vibrates outward. Personally I have witnessed this many times. I am not proud of them. More accurately they haunt me. I wish I would have had the strength, wisdom and morality to choose the harder of the options, but I did not. That is, perhaps, why I was so drawn to the above example of the power paradox. Been there and done fucked that up.

That is the lesson, I believe, in this parable. As our power increases we are offered more, deeper, harder, longer, more important, further reaching and incredibly urgent tests of our ability to measure and manage all existing stimuli. The everything that surrounds us, that makes us and that challenges us to be better. By making fewer compromises. By staying present with relaxed focus, leading by example and supporting our mates as they struggle likewise with their power issues.

Nobody wants an impulsive, out-of-control sociopath for a teammate.

Use your power with presence and merge your awareness with reality.

No paradox there.