Chaos is a Ladder: Your Mindset to Thriving in Massive Change

One of the more insightful lines to come out of Game of Thrones. One of top schemers in the show, Littlefinger in response to his rival Varys about chaos being a gaping pit enveloping the realm says:  

“Chaos isn’t a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail and never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some, are given a chance to climb. They refuse, they cling to the realm or the gods or love. Illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.”

I’ve mentioned this quote several times in podcast interviews I did in 2020. At the height of the pandemic and all the changes happening all around us then. Fast forward to 2023, this seems more true than ever. Huge economic changes & even bigger geopolitical ones, mass layoffs in techland & banking, major bank failures, global recession and fear everywhere. It’s so easy to feel down on the world and life in general.

Yet I keep going back to the quote. Think back to all the major changes in human civilization. The change from Agricultural age to Industrial Age, now to the Knowledge Age. The change from Reformation to Renaissance, The change from French dominated Europe to German dominated one, The change from British Global system to an American one. Globalization to the Deglobalization we see in front of us. Every major change had clear winners and losers. 

Change is hard and we are wired to focus so much on what we are losing that we ignore all the bright opportunities in front of us. So it’s important to change our mindset. 

Yes, we should definitely mourn & rage about the good old days. Nothing like unleashing your anger on a punching bag or a deep cry. Believe me, it’s immensely cathartic. It’s all part of the process to move on. But make sure you don’t dwell on it for too long. Mark my words, there are big new opportunities to go after. Chaos is a ladder, so start climbing.