It might appear as if the world outside is spinning off its axis with stockpiling of food, people being asked to self-isolate for extended periods and the obvious impacts on people's work and livelihoods, but what if there was a counter-melody we could all tap into?
As a remote worker for the past 3-4 months, I feel myself observing what's happening outside with a sense of curiosity and fascination.
My question each day is not 'how will I survive', rather it is 'how can I serve', which is why you've seen me posting across multiple channels about breathwork, grounding support and 1:1 online coaching.
Right now, many of you are experiencing work/life blend at its best (and possibly its worst) as you find ways to manage your home situation and get the essential work done as well. Here's three counter-melodies you may want to tap into during this time of unprecedented change.
1. Use Time to Differently
Now that fewer people are losing time to commuting and school runs, and with many venues closed down, people may find the additional time both useful and frightening. Just think; when was the last time you were confined to home for such a long period of time? When you've run out of episodes of your favourite Netflix series and can't face another board game, what do you do?
Some of us are terrified at the thought having time to think; and our present situation is giving us time to do just that - time to think, time to reflect and time to get in touch with WTF is going on inside of us. Some of you may even have a niggling feeling that you've been keeping yourself busy exactly so that you don't have to think about yourself and what you really want in your life. That's certainly been the case for some of the clients I've spoken to this week.
What if you could flip it?
What if this time could be used to sink into those feelings you've been ignoring, and truly connect with the fears that you have, the dreams you've been putting on hold and the things you've been putting off doing for some future day? There is so much support right now and if you have time, take advantage of it.
I feel we are being asked to take a pause on the lives we've been living and take a deep look at what's real, what's sustainable, and how we can make lemonade from the lemons that have been thrust into our hands.
There are also a multitude of opportunities for us to finish that course we started, learn a new skill or join an online community while we have space to focus and find our flow. I've even started offering to serve a community that wants to breathe better as a way to serve and put my skills to use. For 20 years I've done something completely different. Be bold!
2. Connect & Serve
The counter melody I mentioned earlier is a powerful one. Over the past decade we've seen exponential growth in so many areas of consumption. Although we may have known deep down that it wasn't sustainable, we are now given the opportunity to look again and rather than ask, what can I get? We can ask the question, how can I serve?
Are you stockpiling toilet paper, or are you looking for ways to support your community.
(I won't go into the shamanic perspective on stockpiling toilet paper here, needless to say it's fascinating though!)
In the past week, I've listened to webinars from some of the greatest minds in business, and their message is more or less the same - give, serve, be there genuinely for those in need. The current situation offers us the chance to take a new perspective of fellowship.
Who haven't you spoken to recently? Who might want to hear from you right now? How can you connect with your clients in a heart-felt way, taking a view of serving their needs rather than your own?
The world has changed overnight and the new paradigm we are confronting is one where those who are able to meet the needs of others will thrive.
What talent could you share with your community or your network? How can you get out of your own way and offer that gift or talent that you've been hiding away, waiting for the right time, the right day or the right alignment of the universe before you put it out there? Or more simply, how can you think beyond your clients to their clients and what they might need, and offer that?
3. Be Your Best Self
Working virtually isn't as glam as some people might think, and it can raise a whole host of challenges when you are sharing the space with family for extended periods. This issue arises since there's normally a natural break with partners going to offices and children going to school. Day 3 seems okay, day 23 perhaps less so and the climate in the UK right now does lend itself to singing on balconies.
What if this is an opportunity to look at your relationships and how you live differently?
Social distancing and self-isolation allows us to get up close and personal with our habits and ways of being. It lets us take stock of what's working, what's not working, and for us to get creative in how we might change our behaviours so that we can be our best selves. We are also being given the opportunity to look at how we negotiate, compromise and show empathy for the differences in opinion we all hold (even within the same household) about the state of what's happening outside in the world.
Rather than stockpiling packaged food, what if the counter-melody here is to dial down the junk food and dial up healthy vegetables that will support your immune system and give your system an overall reset? What if there's an opportunity to think about someone else before you put that extra packet of pasta into your basket - unless of course it is for someone else?
If you're prone to sitting in judgement, sharing negative press and helping the mainstream media in their efforts to inform an already frazzled population, what if we could be more curious and contemplative of the situation we find ourselves in?
Could we flip the situation and notice the sound of the birds singing that are normally drowned out by traffic, or the sweeter smell of the air because there's less pollution outside, or just get outside and be in nature and notice the relative calm in the world around us?
The world is a blissful place to be right now, if you can help yourself look beyond the drama of the 24 hour news cycle and alarmist messages on social media.
And what if underneath all of this, the bigger counter-melody we could all tap into is to slow the f*ck down, be grateful for the global pause on everything and take a deep breath as we find ways to simplify our lives?
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to think and act differently... what will you do?
As always I'm here to support anyone who would like to have a conversation. Right now, I'm offering 1:1 coaching on Tuesdays for 45 minutes. No fee and no up-sell. It's all on you.
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