06/18/2024
I’d like to focus today on chaos. There is a lot of it going on right now in many areas of our lives: inflation, economy, job security, business uncertainty, political drama, war around the world. And then there is all that is going on in your life personally.
We all want this chaos to go away. Yet we have little control over most of it. What do we do in the midst of such uncontrollable chaos? One of three things happen to us in such chaos. Our endeavors meet their demise, we survive, or we thrive. Sometimes we go through all three: some areas come to their demise, in others we merely survive and in others we thrive. How do we manage all of that? Ultimately, we all want to thrive. And at the end of the day, we can thrive no matter what is served up.
There are two things I think would benefit us in our approach:
1. We use our own ability to help us go through whatever is going on: The Serenity Prayer approach.
2. We use our own ability to help us rise above it all and focus our attention and effort on where we land when it is allover. Part of that is remembering that “this, too, shall pass”.
Let me explain. We may for example lose our jobs. Of course, we put all of our resources into securing new employment or sources of income. We cut expenses drastically. You’ll be amazed at how little you really need to survive and to be happy. (I know because I’ve been there). We may sell our house. We may sell our boat, our car, our camp. We may even let them go back to the lender. The important thing here is to make a wise decision about which of these to do. So yes, some or our dreams may meet their demise. The important thing to remember is that you are at choice. Regarding our business, we may close it – temporarily or permanently. We may cut back on personnel, services, products. We want to do it in a way that we respect both our employees and our clients and our service providers. We explain to them what we are doing and that we will rebuild when things get better. If we choose to close our business, we know that we can always start up again later with the same business or a new one.
The most important thing for you to remember is that you can speak about all this chaos in a way that fosters your looking for what is working and capitalizing on that. Secondly, we want to remember that this too shall change, and we will come back to a robust economy. For those of us who are “older” than most have the benefit, at this stage of the game, knowing we will survive since we have already gone through this multiple times before. We know you can survive, recover and thrive, no matter what gets thrown at you. The downside of being young at this time is that you don’t yet have the experience of surviving such turmoil and coming out of it better than ever once it’s over. So you have more uncertainty, doubt and fear.
You will adapt to whatever changes happen and rebuild. So how do you make the best of all situations: demise, survive and thrive?
The most important thing is not to buy into the doom and gloom mindset. We are in turmoil. We will figure it out as individuals business men and women and as a country. Focus on the blessings you currently have, have confidence in yourself and faith in the future. Secondly, develop your emotional competence. Learn to manage your moods and emotions through people you hang out, what you read, what you choose to watch on tv, the way you talk to yourself and others. And thirdly, stay active, engaged in things you like to do. Engage with groups who are upbeat and focus on being part of the solution, not the problem.
None of this is intended to be a Pollyanna approach where you stick your head in the sand and pretend everything is ok. It is a realistic approach to being responsible for what you say and do regarding not only your financial security but for your own happiness and contentment. Adapt to what you cannot change and put a lot of energy into the things you can impact.
We can allow this chaos to send us into the dark ages OR we can be part of a resurgence into prosperity, a renaissance, by looking toward a brighter future while acting in the present to see the best in others and our situation while we create opportunities for success. Let’s rebuild a better world by being strong, hopeful, resilient and responsible!
Diane helps her clients tame their chaos. Take a look at the Current Course offerings that are sure to help you prosper no matter your current situation!
https://janusresources.com/current-course-line-up-janus-resources-leadership-program/
