I wonder if you can cast your memory back to the beginning of the year?

What were your biggest burning issues? What were you working on that was giving you stress?

Now think about your biggest challenges today. Where are those issues that you were so focused on just a couple months ago? If I had to guess, those issues have faded, receded into the background, as new concerns for our own health, safety of loved ones, finances, and day-to-day life have taken precedence.

One thing is for sure, this pandemic and the resulting economic challenges have caused us to bring into focus those things (and people) that are most important. The abundance, health, and relationships that we once took for granted are now at the top of our list of things we want to protect, nourish, and appreciate.

I’d like to take your pulse and assess how you’re feeling right now. I’ll ask you the same questions that I asked hundreds of participants on a webinar that I led recently.

Select the word or phrase that best describes your state of mind:

a.) Disoriented – Dazed and confused

b.) Anxious and afraid

c.) Alert and open to options

d.) Strategizing how I’ll lose the “Quarantine Fifteen” (pounds) that I’ve already put on!

A majority admitted that they’re (at a minimum) feeling disoriented. And you can count yours truly in that number. (And I don’t even want to talk about those extra LB’s!)

While not one of us would have chosen to go through these challenging times, we can choose HOW we will respond to them and how we will be different when we come out on the other side. Because make no mistake about it, you will be different.

“You gain strength, courage, and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face. You are able to say to yourself, ‘I lived through this horror. I can take the next thing that comes along.’”

– Eleanor Roosevelt, Former First Lady of the United States

Think about what you want to DO with this time that we have before us. This unprecedented time of social distancing and leading and working remotely. Do you want to simply get through – to survive this crisis?  If so, that’s fine. No judgment. I’m guessing though, that since you’re reading this now, you probably aspire to do more.

The question is, if you have the potential to be exceptional, why wouldn’t you be?

“Adversity does not build character, it reveals it.”

– James Lane Allen

After all, we can do more than cope. And believe me, I get it, for some, getting through the day may be a huge accomplishment in itself. But perhaps you and I can do more; and if we can, we should.

This is the time to be creative, the time to really invest in relationships, and the time to collaborate in new ways. When this is all said and done, those who have been intentional about how they respond will thrive; those who haven’t will merely survive.

Eleanor Roosevelt talks about being more competent and confident after going through a crisis.

Sir Isaac Newton was homebound during the Great Plague of London, and during a year of isolation, he did some of his best work in mathematics and his study of gravity.

Winston Churchill, when confronted with the threat of Nazi invasion, gave one of the best speeches ever delivered in which he rallied his countrymen to “make this their finest hour.”

So, what will you do to make this YOUR finest hour? When you take this time to think about the next month or so, think about how you want to come out on the other side.

• Where will there be growth for you?
• How will you have developed as a leader?
• What will you have learned?
• How will your communication and collaboration skills have improved?
• What redundancies will you have eliminated?
• What paradigms/ways of thinking will have been challenged?
• What will you have created?

My prayer is that you and your loved ones will come through this healthy and robust. Beyond that, I hope that you will set some intentions for yourself and choose to emerge from this time even stronger than before.

Because if you don’t set some intentions for yourself, you may only have those empty junk food wrappers to show for this time!

If you’d like a guide on the side to help you grow and THRIVE through this, schedule a complimentary discovery call with me.

 

You might also like:

Women in Leadership: You Are Contagious

Leadership Tips to Develop Non-Negotiable “New Normal” Habits

Why Your Employees Should Stop Thinking Like Employees

Jennifer Ledet, CSP, is a leadership consultant and professional speaker (with a hint of Cajun flavor) who equips leaders from the boardroom to the mailroom to improve employee engagement, teamwork, and communication.  In her customized programs, leadership retreats, keynote presentations, and breakout sessions, she cuts through the BS and talks through the tough stuff to solve your people problems.

Photo by Morgan Sarkissian on Unsplash