Reality's Overrated

I've come to believe reality's overrated.  

Admittedly, my grasp has always been tenuous, but I threw out the line in a recent management training, went public. Upped even my own ante.  And surprisingly learned I'm not the only one thinks we're more productive if we quit being so realistic. 

A thoughtful, intelligent senior manager was regaling a typical work horror -- powerful, egomaniac colleague priding herself on hoarding information, shucking blame, pitting folks against each other, and wreaking general havoc and mayhem.  He'd dug his heels deep into the office carpet over a particular battle with her, and while absolutely justified, intransigent & pouty were not his nature.  He was unnerved as much by his own behavior as by her's.

So I suggested he pretend like she was a normal person, just engage as if she was the most rational, easy--to-get-along-with colleague imaginable.  Act normal and expect she'd do the same.  Then see what happens.  Worst case, she'd still be a jerk, but at least he'd maintain his integrity.  And feel better.

I'm not sure he took my advice.  (He's a psychiatrist; flights into imaginary fancy are kinda frowned upon in his business.)  But I got lots of other head-nods.  

Seems many of us are weary of reality's game.  Screw it, we're saying.  And not with muffled voices buried in the sand.  But with a fledgling recognition that we -- the good, honest, compassionate, kind, decent folk -- actually outnumber those who are greedy, mean, violent, and power-hungry.  They've been louder, richer, and sure get more prime-time attention.  But we outnumber 'em.  By a lot.  

So let's pretend -- better yet, imagine & intend & assume -- that our values run the world's show instead.  Telling that crappy co-worker, lousy teacher, rude sales clerk, or even the Guantanamo torture-memo authors, the encroaching Taleban insurgents, the Burmese junta, Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir & his Darfur genocide, the pesticide executives harassing Michelle Obama about her organic garden ... I'm sorry, that's not how we play this game.

PS check out the 5 Congressmembers arrested yesterday for civil disobedience.