While much has been said, written about and deliberated concerning the upcoming regulatory updates from the FDA, there has been little rational offered for keeping up shop in the interim. While speculation spirals out of control, many times in an unrealistic and unproductive way, many of us forget that there are still businesses to run and customers to engage.
This behavior begs the question, ‘what is on the other side of fear?’ Fear causes the human mind to venture into a plethora of illogical and irrational scenarios, many of which have no basis in facts or reality. Add to that a deep- seated aversion to change and you have the perfect cocktail for precipitous decision-making. Nevertheless, there is an alternative. Instead of allowing fear to paralyze and incapacitate, we each have a choice to use fear as a motivator for productivity.
Fear or Fuel?
For many, our fear of the unknown is a heart-pounding, gut-wrenching feeling that takes many shapes, most of them akin to anxiety. However, every time fear threatens to slow progress we have a choice to use that same energy as fuel.
Information and productivity are fear-killers. Interestingly, the very same behavior that many of us feel when we face new challenges, like anxiety and irrationality, are the same behaviors that inflate fear. Disarming fear is a process that allows us to utilize the same energy, but in a productive way. Becoming informed and active during the process of change will eliminate many of the over-inflated and irrational scenarios that we associate with an evolving business climate.
Fear or Productivity?
Aversion to change is the kryptonite of productivity. While our senses tell us to hold, be cautious and wait. Productivity tells us to dive in and embrace change; to get our houses and businesses in order and to move with precision into the future.
It is counter-intuitive to lean into the unknown, but history has taught us that those who do are the most prepared for growth. Steve Jobs founded Apple with the express goal of changing the world with computers, and he was considered an oblique and out of touch visionary by many. Fast forward to 2016 and few people in the world who have not been touched by his vision. While regulatory changes are new and unsettling to many, fast forward a few years from now and an updated environment will be business-as-usual.
Fear or Information?
While an argument will never be exerted for accepting the proposed regulation changes without careful discernment for both the market, individual rights, free enterprise and consumer protection. The call is certainly out to become informed about the real impact of possible regulatory updates and not just imagined scenarios.
It is also of the utmost importance to avail yourself of information concerning comparable international markets, particularly ones that have undergone similar proposed changes. Not only was there much fear and conjecture surrounding regulatory updates abroad but on the other side of regulation changes, International Tanning markets are prospering.
Most importantly, do not be paralyzed by fear, use the energy as fuel to become more productive and informed as we all work together to ensure the health and longevity of our industry.
Brynn Scarborough
For IST Magazine, July 2016
