Fear is the path to the dark side.
I have no problem with being prepared to deal with eventualities that I fear might happen. I was a boy scout forever, being prepared is in my blood. However, spending too much time on plan ‘b’ tends to make it a self-fulfilling prophecy. It’s the difference between being prepared for the worst and expecting it. Between optimism and pessimism. Success will never come to those who do not reach for it, so optimism must prevail. That is all.
Managing morale is tricky business. I can’t just tell people how to feel and expect them to do it, I have to convince them. Arguing about how to feel is not within the realm of logic, either. What’s worse is, I care about my people, so when they are hurt, or feel put-upon or disenfranchised, I hurt, as well. It’s the pits when I have to deliberately do or say things that make them feel bad. (In case my tone is unclear, it so happens that it’s the pits right now.)
Fortunately, I know that my people are intelligent, and will eventually reach the same conclusion about the situation that I did, namely, that the path we are on, though somewhat painful, is the correct one. It is simply unfortunate that the path to that particular flavor of enlightenment is rocky and pain-ridden.
So it turns out that, with effort and total concentration, I can for brief periods of time put myself in other peoples shoes (some people more easily than others). It’s too bad that it requires too much time and focus to be able to do in an actual face-to-face conversation, where I also have to keep my mind on things like my expression, the other fellow’s expression, body language, etc. Maybe someday.
It should also be noted that all of the empathy in the world does not make bad news less bad. Neither do apologies.
Infinity bottles of beer on the wall, infinity bottles of beer, if one of those bottles should happen to fall, infinity bottles of beer on the wall…