Hesitant or Hungry in 2026?

Have you experienced fear? You have; so have I.

When I was playing for the Western Hockey League's Kamloops Chiefs during the mid '70's, our team would often limp into Victoria, New Westminster, or Flin Flon. All three teams drafted big players who loved fisticuffs (remember that word?). Fear is a gut feeling that can dominate our thinking, and our thinking can multiply fear. The important question is how do we learn to respond to the fear in front of us?

As a 16 year old playing against the New West Bruins, Flin Flon Bombers, or Victoria Royals, I discovered that in order to conquer my fear, I needed to confront it and take action. Sometimes that action landed me with a black eye… but so be it. I would lift more weights, get stronger, and feel less fear next time. I learned that fear could either make me hesitate or make me hungry.

I learned the critical leadership skill of staying hungry during tough games by building a bring it on attitude when feelings of fear emerged. I didn’t want fear to slow me down, make me hesitate, or hobble me into limping backwards instead of lunging forward towards the goal. Yes, I learned it during my junior hockey days, but I am still sharpening this skill today. 

I understood that these big teams were using intimidation as a tactic to take their opponents' eyes off the prize. During the late 70’s and 80’s, I encountered the NHL’s Flyers and Bruins utilizing these same tricks to their advantage. Like Flin Flon, Victoria, and especially New Westminster, they also leveraged chaos and uncertainty to increase their opponents' fear. It was in their game plan. Sometimes they would fight you; sometimes they would play the game. That uncertainty was part of their fear factor.

Remember, fear either hobbles us or fuels our hunger.

During 2025 and heading into 2026, I am consistently hearing the word unsettled in the business world. The CEOs and decision-makers that I talk with are concerned about which game they might have to play in the coming 2026 season. Worldwide "chaos” seems to be driving uncertainty, and these two factors increase a focus towards what we call Future-Negative fear.

copyright Ryan Walter 2025, all rights reserved.

Spending time in Future-Negative is not necessarily right or wrong; it is just part of the game we play. When chaos and uncertainty increase, hungry leaders are wise to redirect their energy towards developing Future-Negative risk-assessments.  When the situation feels unsettled, increased clarity, and even pieces of micro-clarity, are essential. Developing our plan to respond during different game-situations keeps us hungry toward the win, even if we are not sure how our opponent might show up.

Hungry leaders cannot know what the future holds for our companies or our families, but we can ponder multiple Future-Positive potential options. The upside of time spent in Future-Negative Thinking is the forward motion generated by these risk assessments. Hungry leaders who are continuously increasing their clarity have greater ability to sustain their positive energy.

The downside of Future-Negative chaos and uncertainty is increased fear, anxiety, and worry. These Three Musketeers thrive in uncertainty. Fear and its two cousins decelerate decision-making and debilitate high performance. Fear that is not dealt with hinders our Future-Positive focus. It hobbles our leadership, causing us to slow down, limp, hesitate, and even look for ways to exit the current game.

The Future-Negative Mindset presents two distinct paths. When we are confronted by fear and follow the first path (the hobbled path), we are skating down a road filled with the potholes of self-doubt, and curves that slow us down, sometimes even turning us around. However, if we take the second path (the hungry path), we take a deep breath and choose to maintain our hungry momentum. We may still fall in some of those potholes, but we jump over others, all the while working to envision the Future-Positive options that will accelerate our team through the curves.

In the movie Racing in the Rain, the driving instructor tells young drivers that "The car goes where your eyes go." If you turn the corner and come upon an accident, the first move is with the eyes and the hands follow. Hungry leaders force their focus away from what they fear and towards where they want to go.

Yes, fear can be intimidating, but it doesn’t need to be debilitating.

Leaders, will the uncertainty of heading into the 2026 season hobble us with hesitation, or fuel our hungry spirit?

Do you choose to be Hesitant or Hungry?

Ryan

Have an amazing 2026! Send me an email to set up a call before Christmas.

If you are a person who likes to listen to audio books and want to keep yourself and your team HUNGRY in 2026 we have a resource for you!

Our book HUNGRY Fuelling your Best Game is now available. Listen as I share concepts, models and stories around what it means to be Hungry and how you can stay Hungry in 2026!