Developing MEtis
Again, metis isn’t courage. A lot of it is based on knowledge, which is a thing that can be built over time. Having my dissertation presentation well-rehearsed, knowing the room it was in like the back of my hand to troubleshoot technical problems with the projector, and being an expert in my field gave me the mental room to deal with the absence of a committee member.
Today at the airport, having had the forethought to renew TSA precheck, as well as only having a carry-on bag in case I had to become highly mobile gave me the opportunity to make it to another airport and on to my destination.
Where knowledge becomes metis in, I think, doing hard things over and over, and seeing each of them, whether success or failure, as an opportunity to learn about yourself, the world, and how to make the two work well together.
This is not a piece about how awesome or special I am. In fact, I am neither of those things. The thing that helped me, and will continue to help me, build something that I hope is metis, is simply the recognition that learning, trying better, and practicing until you can apply knowledge without having to stop and deliberate is a skill that, under crisis circumstances, can solve situations that will leave other people frozen by fear or doubt.
Metis, then, is not some inherent quality, but rather a mode of tactical reasoning that can be learned and deployed to help you when you need it most.