Embracing the Chaos

Why Waiting for Calm is a Waste of Time

We live in a world that operates in a state of continuous chaos.

Especially in our professional lives, many of us find ourselves constantly putting out fires, dealing with the next critical issue instead of progressing calmly through a perfect, well-planned to-do list.

The dream is a clean schedule, clear priorities, and quiet space to deliver meaningful work.

The reality?

Slack is on fire, emails are on fire, and well, everything is on fire.

Recently, I had a fascinating conversation with a senior leader who told me that after months of running from one problem to another, they wanted to step back from the front line and build a framework for the entire organisation, something scalable and solid that could help everyone better manage the load.

My immediate reaction?

“Are you kidding?”

This was a tech start-up.

Chaos is the default setting

I probed a little deeper

“Do you have the time?”

“No, not really”

“Do you have the mental capacity?”

“No, not at all”

This isn’t unusual.

That desire for structure amidst the madness carries many parallels to my life as a professional footballer.

From the outside, you imagine we played to a perfect blueprint.

The manager had all the players available, in form, fit, and ready to play their strengths each week, carefully honed to the performance on a Saturday afternoon at 3.00pm

The reality?

More often than not we were missing key players due to injuries, suspensions, dips in form, illness.

The manager was operating in a perfect storm, constantly adjusting, adapting, and making the best of what they had.

That was the job.

And yet,

We played.

We delivered.

We found ways

Too often, I see professionals and leaders hoping that once things calm down, once the team is fully staffed, the tech is updated, the plan is clear, and the market settles, they’ll finally be able to really get to work.

But that moment rarely comes.

And if we’re waiting for perfect conditions to start performing, we’ll be waiting forever.

This is where Ted Lasso gets it so right.

The show’s charm isn’t just in the humour or feel-good moments, it nails the unpredictability of leadership and performance, and revolves around the power of culture, and how it can overcome the chaos.

Yes, frameworks, templates, and systems are helpful.

But there are regularly situations when they go out the window.

When people, emotions, workflow and deadlines take over, and we still have to show up, and deliver.

The truth is, we’re working under these chaotic conditions far more often than we realise, and rarely in the luxury of calm, structured order.

The key isn’t trying to eliminate this chaos.

That’s an unrealistic expectation

It’s learning to expect it, to work with it, and even, to embrace it.

We long for control, but what we really need is to be able to weather it, for long periods.

We need resilience.

We crave predictability, but what helps us thrive is adaptability.

Here’s the hard truth:

If your expectations are for calm waters and a well-ordered plan, you’re going to be both disappointed and frustrated.

But if you reframe your expectations to assume constant chaos as the norm, you won’t be thrown off, you’ll still deliver.

And in the end, delivery, despite the madness, is what really counts.

So, suck it up

And let’s go.