The market shifts, a key employee quits, your biggest client walks away – these aren’t storms you invited. Yet here you are, in the churning center.
The Stoics understood this distinction perfectly. Epictetus reminded us that while we cannot control external events, we maintain absolute authority over our response.
Marcus Aurelius practiced this daily, writing: “You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”
When leadership feels like standing on a listing ship, remember that your team watches how you maintain balance. Your steadiness becomes their stability.
The calm leader doesn’t deny the storm’s existence but refuses to match its chaos with internal turmoil. They acknowledge reality while creating a pocket of clarity where decisions can breathe.
This isn’t about weathering the storm. It’s about becoming the anchor others rely on when everything else shifts.
