How are you doing? A personal message and a personal challenge

As this unprecedented week is coming to an end, may I ask you this simple question: how are you doing? Not as a greeting, but genuinely – how are you? We are expected to go through this unknown territory while being very poorly equipped, at many levels. It can be a huge personal challenge.

While the world is experiencing scarcity of supplies to fight the virus, we might experience emotional exhaustion and revert to our basic survival strategies. It is also easy to drown in the massive amount of information that is being poured on us.

So, how are you doing?

We are now going down on this emotional roller coaster ride. We wish we could stop, reset the system, and go up happily – but this is not the case. For many of us, the pandemic brings up a lot: fear, anxiety, sadness…

Take Time for Yourself

For some of us, it feels surprisingly healing to slow down, stay at home, spend time with our loved ones. Some of us are in the risk group or have family members or friends who are in the risk group – and this is even a deeper layer of stress.

While we are going down this spiral, we are in the process of learning. Learning about ourselves. Learning to adjust. Learning to heal. Learning to come up with solutions and ideas that we have never thought we could come up with. We are learning to be present to a lot of suffering without becoming numb: distracting, denying, or other forms of avoidance.

In such times, it is crucial to practice being kind to yourself. Lower those unrealistic expectation of a superhero who has 10 heads, 24 arms, and can survive just on coffee and affirmations. Get to know yourself as a human – with your strengths and limitations.

Practice Being Present

It’s OK to have occasional meltdowns in such times. In fact, allowing yourself to feel can be very healing and can help you to move faster and exit the frozen mode of being stuck.

Recently, I had a meltdown over the groceries that were delivered after I spent two-and-a-half hours hunting for vegan food online. The delivery was just half of what I expected. Isn’t it a good metaphor for a current situation? We all would like to order something different now, but we get what we get. And it feels very upsetting. These emotions come and go, like a wave. Befriending them and not beating yourself up for experiencing them or for your perceived “failures”, is so important in this process of learning. What we do between those waves is what matters – this is what makes a huge difference!

While I in no way wish to downplay the impact of the current situation with COVID-19, I also believe that life will go on and something new will emerge on the other end of this learning curve.

With these things in mind, I would ask that you focus first on keeping yourself and your family healthy and safe. Next, do all that you can to stay in touch with your team, clients, and stakeholders, safely, to reassure them that you are still involved and committed to their ongoing success.

To keep yourself informed, I recommend watching news that offers facts, not sensational stories or opinions. I also challenge you to watch reports that do not confirm your preconceptions and biases – in other words, pick sources that stretch your thinking, increase flexibility, and enhance creativity.

It’s Time to Be Visible

Instead of being isolated, challenge yourself to be visible – even virtually. Instead of letting stress dominate your days, take this time to be with family, slow down, and practice mindfulness. Try to incorporate new ways of thinking and feeling into your days. Take this time to learn about yourself; to explore the things you truly care about and value.

If you are able to do this in the face of these stressful times, these new habits will stay with you when this period comes to an end.

While it may seem counter-intuitive to look at this as an opportunity for growth, overcoming the challenges you’re currently facing will build resiliency and your strategies and tactics for doing so will become assets for the future.

This would also be a great time to think of this as an opportunity to get your ducks in a row and develop a business plan to implement over the next month, six months, and year. Focusing on those that you serve is key because we know that life and business WILL return to NEW normal and, when it does, you want to be ready.

For example, when it comes to your business, this would be a great time to offer that webinar you’ve been planning, or create that FB business page, or update your LinkedIn profile, or get some online training yourself. (You now have the time.)

If you are not a business owner – think about yourself as one. It is a very helpful mindset for any leader in any organization – as you are the owner of a very unique brand with your name on it. Your visibility now will make a big difference in the future.

If you are working in healthcare, social work, education, and other industries that are in the front line of addressing the current crisis – I am sending you gratitude from the depth of my heart. May you be safe.

One last note, my schedule still has openings for discovery calls. These are free and if you feel like you need to connect, get to know each other better, and brainstorm the action plan click here to schedule your call.

Wishing all the best to you, your family, and your business,
Maria