There is no doubt that our lives have been disrupted. The COVID-19 crisis has taken a lot over the past few months: lives, jobs, freedom to gather. It’s kept us from our families, from restaurants, and apparently, toilet paper.
Like many, I have spent days paralyzed by fear and worry. A rollercoaster of emotions we’re all on – especially if you are a business owner, a parent, a frontline worker, or a teenager. But, haven’t you faced a crisis before? We face them in seasons; death, losing a job, divorce, financial strain. These things aren’t 24-hour headline news, but they happen every day. If you’ve experienced any of those, then you’ve felt this before – thinking “We’ll not survive this.” We take it one day at a time, asking others what to do, praying, forgetting about goals and priorities… sound familiar?
Surviving the crisis in front of you, no matter the size of the storm, requires you to search for your courage. It’s rising up when it’s easier to sit down. It’s starting over. It’s finding joy in the small things. Courage, in its greatest form, is you, working through the worry.
Here’s how. Pull out a notebook, put on your favorite music, or find a quiet room, and do the following:
- Write down your goal. Remind yourself, what is the goal? Has that changed since the crisis? Is it just paused? Is the path blocked?
- Write down the three obstacles preventing you from achieving this goal. Write them out in great detail so you can face each one. The exercise in writing it down is part of the work that condenses your worry, and gets it out of your conscious mind. Be honest.
- Write down your next best option. Do you need to learn a new skill because you’ve been laid off? Do you need to find another income stream? School is closed, so I am now a teacher– hey, we’re all suffering here. We just have to learn 5th grade fractions. Thankfully, wine is considered essential.
- Write the next step in the direction of your goal. The next thing you can act on, right now. What can you accomplish today? Don’t overthink this; you don’t need a whole new career in a day. Can you research online? Update your resume? Sign up for an online class? Spend at least 1 hour a day taking the next right step.
This last step is the toughest. Taking action is hard when you are surrounded by others who are screaming in fear and panic. This is what courage boils down to – taking action when it’s easier not to. Celebrate the small wins. Those small wins create momentum. Momentum is a magnifier of success. Stop doubting yourself and feed your focus.
Some will say “What if that doesn’t work?” Well, here’s the honest truth; It may not. Your business may very well still suffer and face an impoverished future. Your job may disappear, and your financial future may face dismay. The time will pass regardless. Would you rather spend your time working through the worry, or just worry?
The choice is simple: Choose courage over crisis.
