I want to share this with you, as a person who grew up in a rural community in a 27-foot fifth wheel with no running water or electricity...as a person who went on to write a multi-award-winning memoir and buy a million-dollar home...as a person who knows what it takes to move through incredibly difficult and trying times...
You will be okay IF...
If you realize the key to coming out on the other side of this is resiliency.
Many people, many businesses are feeling like this is the end. It absolutely is the end of the way you used live, the way you used to go about your day and run your business. Many think their lives won't recover quickly (if ever) from the downfall of Coronavirus. Many businesses will fail, many people will have a difficult time bouncing back, but not all. Many will come out stronger, more resilient and better positioned to achieve their dreams.
The ones who will come out stronger are the ones who realize, this is the beginning of something new.
There has never been a better time to dive into the YOU you want to be, tackle the dreams you've had and take up hobbies you've always wanted. There has never been a better time to reinvent yourself.
These days of lockdown are going to create depression for many, and for others they will disappear quickly without structure, routine and guidance, it's easy to get lost in hours of social media and news, and look back on this time and realize you didn't achieve anything you wanted, including forging closer relationships with those you love (both in and outside the home).
As a society we have the potential to come out of this pandemic stronger than ever before.
How many of you never believed you could work AND home school your child? How many of you are doing that right now?
What is resiliency, what does is look like?
Resiliency simply translated is the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. It's something that comes from within, but we only need to practice when the going gets tough. Many of us have shown resiliency without even recognizing it for what it is, it's an almost autonomous response when we are faced with an injury. You've practiced resiliency constantly from the moment you were born, and you came out stronger.
Think of the first time you fell off your bike, perhaps you were cut, perhaps you bled, perhaps you were told to get back up and try again, perhaps you did. You were resilient.
But how do you have cognitive emotional resiliency when it's not obvious?
First, you stop telling yourself this is the end and start telling yourself this is the beginning of something new.
Being resilient is a gentle combination of surrender and intention. It's about knowing what to let go of, and what is within your control. It's about figuring out what type of action to take to improve your situation.
1. Identify something that you've been doing that hasn't been working (or functioning) as well as it could.
2. Identify some areas of your life or business that you've been needing to improve.
3. Get creative, if all rules, regulations, and finances were off the table, what could you create?
Second, you stop using I can't terms and start using I can terms.
You've already proven to yourself you can do things you didn't think you could and yet you did when there wasn't any other options. That's how the human mind works, it's a problem solver, it loves a good challenge. But no one ever built anything using an "I can't" mindset.
1. List all the things you thought you couldn't do, that you are currently doing (homeschooling your child, staying in small quarters with your family, not having happy hour).
2. List all the things you CAN do right now with the resources that you have.
3. Every time a negative thought comes in your mind silently say, "negative thought, I have no room for you right now, I'm busy building a better future."
Third, know that all great things you have accomplished took some difficulty to achieve.
Remember getting your driver's license? Remember having to do the driver training, and study and student drive with your parents? Remember having to deal with the DMV and wait for an appointment and then take the test? Didn't it seem at some point you'd never have your freedom to drive?
1. List things you've accomplished in your life.
2. List something that took a lot of grit to get through.
3. List things that are outside of your control.
4. List things that are within your control.
5. List 3 action items you can take on the things within your control.
Lastly, identify what you offer the world and what your values are.
No matter how you come out of this, if you came out offering your talent to the world and holding onto your values, you will have won.
1. List what's important to you.
2. List what your values are, this is a great list if you need some ideas.
3. What are you awesome at?
4. What do you offer the world?
5. If everything fell apart but this one thing turned out great, what would it be? What does it look like?
If you are looking for a great book to read about resiliency, I could give you a million self-help ones that I think are phenom, many are listed in my Amazon shop, but honestly, I think Teetering on Disaster is a humorous and emotional journey to learning first hand what resiliency looks like.