The (Original) Blog
“You have to let it all go, Neo. Fear, doubt, and disbelief. Free. Your. Mind.” – Morpheus, in The Matrix movie
New blog posts from 2022 on are now on the Shift the Country Substack - which are free to view or to subscribe to. Substack is an effective publishing platform that helps writers get wider audiences and support, and it's a good fit.
This (Original) Blog for Counterfear.com is an exploration of the counterfear work from 2016-2020. Some of the content since 2020 is on the Counterfear Facebook wall. More background "About The (Original) Blog" is here.
This blog space is a dynamic tool. As content builds, you can use the buttons below to search for blog topics you are interested in. Each Focus Area has a tag. The "Counterfear Tools (in blog)" can be found via that link or through the tags here. Shift the Country tools have moved to the 5 Ways To Make Shift Happen page on that new website.
All blog post entries are original unless noted. All blog post comments are moderated and delayed until approved.
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What We've Been Up To Since June
Thursday, December 31, 2020
A Quick Look At Today
It's October 2, and the last blog post here was June 12.
Uh, some stuff has happened since. Most of the writing on all of those subjects has been on the founder's... Read more
Why We're Ready For This Moment
Thursday, December 31, 2020
POST FROM THE FOUNDER
I've said in several places on this website that it was built for this moment.
The work here at Counterfear.com and at Shift the Country is totally set up... Read more
Onward
Friday, October 30, 2020
I never wanted it to be like this. Not that anyone did, but I’ve been dreading it longer than many.
This week I heard yet another pundit say “no one could have ever imagined it could be this bad.” “This bad” meaning Trumpism, mass death, a democracy in trouble… all of that.
Yeah – that’s not... Read more
There's Something Happening Here
Friday, June 12, 2020
Way back at the beginning of all of this before this Administration even came into office, I hoped that the US intelligence and national security... Read more
We Have To Take Care Of Each Other
Thursday, June 11, 2020
There is a lot of tragedy around.
That is an understatement
It's going to hit all of us at different times and in different ways. From all the things.... Read more
Trump's Daily Decision
Thursday, June 4, 2020
In all of the outrageous things happening in the US, Donald Trump continues to choose every single day not to use the full power, strength, capabilities,... Read more
Things To Hold On To
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Some Big Picture Parts
Hey! It's another super long post! This one puts some of the pieces together in one place that we're not all talking about as a big... Read more
Time To Think Deeper Resilience
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Folks it's time to think deeper resilience.
Put your contingency plans in place. Write down the phone numbers you need. Have backup plans for meeting... Read more
Fighting For Each Other
Monday, June 1, 2020
We're in a hell of a moment. If you are hoping that it is going to calm down, I'm here to tell you that it won't. We just had a series of super spreader... Read more
Yet Another Trump - Putin Call In A Sea Of Outrageousness
Monday, June 1, 2020
Here's a random data point for all the trippy stuff happening today out of the White House and in DC: Trump and Putin talked today.
Heaven knows what... Read more
More Death & Destruction Is Coming Whether You See It Or Not
Monday, May 25, 2020
Lots of helplessness, worry, frustration, anger, and rage on my feed today. I've got it too.
I'm going to say some uncomfortable stuff here as a disaster... Read more
Creating the Space - Coronavirus Version
Saturday, May 23, 2020
There's this scene in the movie The Matrix where the survivors have hit a rough spot. Most of the team has been killed by the bad guys, who have taken one of the good guys hostage to break into their most sacred space; the space where the rest of humanity survives.
The team is deciding to remotely kill the one who has been... Read more
The Great Transformation
Sunday, May 3, 2020
In a 2012 keynote speech at the Smithsonian, I heard a renowned system scientist say:
"The challenge of our lifetimes will be to manage the decline of civilization."
It felt like every single person in that auditorium stopped breathing. Like time paused; if only for a moment. I've never been in... Read more
Stay Grounded / Prioritize Everything
Monday, April 6, 2020
Today I offer two pieces of advice in this time of increasing intensity. The first is to try and stay grounded. To not panic. The second is to... Read more
There Is No National Coordination System - There Are 12
Tuesday, March 31, 2020
There Is No Single National Coordination System For Disaster Response
NO, there is no single US system to help everyone in every state and in every hospital get the critical... Read more
He's Got Space Dementia!
Thursday, March 26, 2020
"He's got space dementia!"
It's a silly quote from the absurd not-quite-an-apocalypse movie, Armageddon. Here we are in our own not-quite-an-apocalypse (I... Read more
3 Things To Demand From Legislators
Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Wondering what to demand from your legislators? Please share widely.
These 3 federal authorities & capabilities are not being fully used. People will... Read more
3 Huge Federal Things Not Fully Activating
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Three Huge Things The US Government Is Deliberately Not Fully Activating That Could Help Keep You Alive:
1 -- The Defense Production Act.
2 -- The... Read more
We're Going To Need Dreams As We Go Through This
Tuesday, March 24, 2020
Disasters can be dream-killers. We don't really talk about them that way. Yet they wipe out people and neighborhoods and livelihoods.
There's another... Read more
Pandemics Are Not Survived On Hope
Monday, March 23, 2020
"Rebellions are built on hope." - Star Wars' Rogue One.
Pandemics are not survived on it.
There's a persistent hope that this is going to be over soon.... Read more
We Are WAY Behind (Plus The 4 Things)
Wednesday, March 18, 2020
The federal coronavirus response, being touted by the media as something that will be lovely and helpful, is ramping up way later than it should have.
One... Read more
4 Things To Help Navigate The Biggest US Disruption In A Century
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
I feel like the US is slowly catching up to what I've known for years.
I knew we were not ready for a catastrophe - especially more than one at a time.
I... Read more
Navigating Information Overwhelm
Friday, March 13, 2020
One of the things that happens in disasters is information overwhelm. Especially in the information age. It's a big issue inside the response, but it's a... Read more
Machinery Behind The Scenes Of Big COVID-19 Announcements
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Big Infrastructure Action
NCAA cancelled in-person attendance at the March Madness tournament today. This post is a super quick look at how some post-9/11... Read more
On Devolution
Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Today's word is "devolution."
Yesterday I talked about two fairly dark subjects... pandemic planning, and continuity of government / continuity of operations... Read more
Parts Of Why This Could Be Bad - Continuity, Complexity, Cascading Effects
Monday, March 9, 2020
The darkest areas I've ever worked in in disaster management are continuity planning, and pandemic planning. The worst-case scenarios are usually too much... Read more
Hopefully Not Going Full Apocalypse
Saturday, February 29, 2020
I don't think we're going to go full apocalypse. There may be people who see posts like mine and the widespread increasing panic out there and think we are... Read more
The Power of Federalism, Plus 2 Tools
Saturday, February 29, 2020
This official US Government tweet shows the level of professionalism and calm we are going to get from the federal government in this crisis: obviously very... Read more
Play Time Is Over
Friday, February 28, 2020
Play time is over.
If you don't think the pandemic threat of coronavirus is worth taking seriously, then you're not paying attention to the ENTIRE FREAKING... Read more
Ramp-Up, Declarations, Institutions, Federalism
Friday, February 28, 2020
Today's Take
Why all of this action internationally? It's a risk calculation. There's risk here, and it's real. There's death here, too. Pretty big economic... Read more
Haunting National Security Post
Wednesday, February 19, 2020
Hello! It's the middle of the night, and apparently this is the time in which I decide to write haunting posts about homeland security.
Tonight's post is... Read more
The Moment Has Arrived
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
I pull a lot of my wisdom from movies. The great mythology of our time. This one from the Matrix hits me at some of the most powerful, toughest... Read more
It Almost Certainly Is Going To Be A Pandemic
Monday, February 3, 2020
Two enormous factors converging. You never know what will cause the perfect storm. We can see the risk landscape intensifying though:
*** The constitutional... Read more
Stopping The Sellout
Thursday, January 23, 2020
(UNCENSORED)
I'm feeling some overwhelm and I imagine I'm not the only one. So what do we do in this moment?
Some have given up. Looks like many in the... Read more
Shift In The World Order
Sunday, January 12, 2020
In June of 2001 I went on a date. We ended up in a very detailed discussion -- or rather, an argument -- about how the US could experience a very serious... Read more
Unexpected Lessons From The Life Coach Who Ran For President
Friday, January 10, 2020
So this happened today.
It is part of my mission this year to support the Democratic nominee for president. As such, I've been keeping my opinions on each... Read more
It's Not Doom & Gloom - It's To Get Ready
Thursday, January 9, 2020
I've been told that I put up a lot of gloom and doom stuff. Thing is -- I don't see it that way. We're better prepared for the unimaginable when we can... Read more
3 Clear Ways To Counter Fear
Friday, January 3, 2020
We're at nothing short of an enormous moment. Tonight, the United States of America took out the second most senior official of Iran.
A lot of fear... Read more