Right now it’s easy to feel overwhelmed. So much of what is happening to us personally and to our business, is totally outside our control.
I know that I was in that situation before Christmas; just when you think things are starting to improve another lockdown comes along and stops the green shoots of business recovery. I was panicking about my business, panicking about the presents I hadn’t managed to buy before the shops closed and I had yet another cancelled hair appointment to deal with.
I knew it was time to start practising what I preach.
I made a list of all the things I was worrying about. I then went back down the list and crossed out all the things that I could not control. I quickly realised that I had spent too much time worry about the crossed out things. I couldn’t control them; it was time to let them go and focus on what i could control. I immediately felt calmer, more positive and more in control.
Other steps you can take include:
Spent time outdoors each day – go for a lunchtime walk, cycle, run, tidy up the garden – whatever works for you. Apart from topping up your Vitamin D, being outdoors grounds up and seems to put things in perspective.
Do something to move you forward – is there something you have always wanted to learn? A language? A skill? There are lots of online courses around, many with offers on during lockdown. I found a course I had wanted to do for years was reduced because it was online – making it affordable.
Don’t sit in front of 24 hour news. Many stories are exaggerated to fill in the 24 hours. Get a quick summary from a trusted source or two (for balance) then move on.
Try to notice 3 things every day that you are grateful for. It doesn’t have to be big things, the sunshine poking through the clouds was mine for today. It sounds a bit twee but there is a lot of evidence that shows by focusing on positive things, the brain looks for more positive things to reinforce this. The flip side being that if you thing everything is terrible, then the brain looks for things to reinforce this – and a downward spiral begins.
With the vaccine rollout gathering pace, we need to be ready to sprint from the starting blocks when we are released. Being bogged down by a negative mindset will be like being on the starting blocks with steel toe capped boots and a big Army rucksack on your back.
Ready, Set, Positively Go!
