People resist change. That’s a fact, and reasons pile up. One sneaky cause? The future gets painted too rosy.
Here’s the usual trick in marketing, leadership, or sales:
List every flaw and danger of the present.
Hype the glories of the transformed future.
Smash any argument against acting right now.
It’s a simple picture: hell on the left, paradise on the right.
This pitch hooks the naive, the weary, the beaten-down. But a man who’s lived long enough smells a rat. “Too perfect,” he thinks. “Gotta be a lie.”
Unlike childish dreams, maturity embraces life’s ambivalence. It means holding two truths at once, living with polarity and paradox.
Something looks like a blessing at first glance? Dig deeper, and you’ll find its shadow. Paracelsus said, “Everything is poison, everything is medicine; the dose decides.” For most of life, there’s no encyclopedia of doses.
Then there’s enantiadromia—the principle that every extreme flips into its opposite. The harder a man defends idea X, the faster he’ll face its inverse, -X.
A seasoned soul isn’t seduced by a shiny future. He won’t buy a cure without knowing its side effects and risks. A thing without a shadow? It’s a flat half-truth, a fake, or bait.
The real negotiations, sales, and transformations happen inside us. So, hunt the hidden meaning in what repulses, disgusts, or scares you. That’s the antidote to self-deception.
What about business transformation? It sparks faster when you’re upfront about the cost and struggle of shifting to the new.
Sincerely yours,
-Alexander
As a business therapist, I help tech founders quickly solve dilemmas at the intersection of business and personality, and boost company value as a result.
Stuck? Your business grows when you do. I’m your business therapist to guide your shift. See testimonials here. Ready? Book your Catalyst session.