Genuine Joy: The Transformative Power to Overcome Cynicism and Embrace Change

Dear reader,

Welcome to this week's edition of "Elevations."?

September 11th is an auspicious reminder of the human capacity for both depravity and the depths of humanity for all Americans and people worldwide. I had been in the Twin Towers thousands of times before they fell and knew or knew of at least a dozen people from my local communities who perished that day.

It is often noted that the events of that day changed our world forever, and I usually think of all that has changed, for better and worse, since that day. I mostly think about how we can drive positive change in the world, and it has much to do with the work I do to help develop leadership in our communities through the businesses and organizations we work with.

Leadership is often superfluous when things are going as they should. Only in times of crisis do we recognize the absence of or failures of leadership.

This week's essay speaks to the unending source of power that leaders have to create positive change by understanding that true joy arises from meaningful accomplishment, driving hope and progress even in the presence of cynicism and lost hope. We could all benefit from more of that.

Wishing you a great week ahead.

Genuine Joy: The Transformative Power to Overcome Cynicism and Embrace Change

A recent opinion piece in the New York Times suggested that the word joy that had emerged as the Democratic Party’s rallying cry at their National Convention was a euphemism for Kamala Harris’ identity rather than her success. The author cynically suggested that her party’s acolytes promoted her typecast rather than her achievements or prowess. The hype was founded on the fact that she is a woman of color and the joy function of branding rather than a dynamic shift in the party or its prospects for winning the upcoming election.

What struck me was the lack of context. When people conflate joy with enthusiasm or ecstasy, they miss a crucial point. Interestingly, I think the circumstances surrounding Harris becoming the party’s nominee clearly illustrate what the otherwise astute author and most people miss.

It’s understandable why people might be happy to see a woman of color positioned to become The President of the United States. It’s novel and significant. ?For a long time, it seemed improbable, if not impossible.?It’s the ?David and Goliath drama of the underdog hero rising to defeat the dreaded ogre, bringing hope to an audience that has lost hope, wishing for a different ending that never seems to pass. ??The notion of a different result might be pleasing, but it isn’t what causes their joy.

Happiness and pleasure are entirely different from joy. Joy isn’t the product of external stimuli; it comes from within. This distinction is not just semantic but stems from the core of human experience, which shapes behaviors necessary for driving profound change.

Joy stems from the deep satisfaction we feel when we accomplish things that are meaningful to ourselves and significantly beneficial to others. Joy speaks to what makes us uniquely human and intrinsically good. It is all about context and understanding that we are interdependent social beings.

Joy always comes in waves; when they wane, people propel themselves into action. Its fleeting nature makes us hopeful for the next wave. In this sense, joy isn’t just the result but also the source of the significant things we accomplish individually and collectively.

I believe that the joy expressed at the Democratic National Convention and the wave of enthusiasm across the nation resulted from the sense that they had contributed to and accomplished something meaningful and significant. This kind of collective joy is contagious and generates enthusiasm, producing movement and the action that creates change.

It is easy to be cynical about power because it feels soft and even slippery. Because it isn’t a constant, it’s easy to feel disappointed when the waves dissipate. But it is also just as easy to find hope in the valleys and optimism in the peaks of joy that are inevitable when we persevere and believe that positive change is possible.

When leaders grasp this source of power and cultivate moments of overwhelming joy through their actions and accomplishments, they become capable of driving human performance that can change the world for the better.

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