It is no secret that 2020 has been a freaky year. A research study I was reading indicated that most of us were wholly unprepared for the work from home adjustments caused by the pandemic. Another research study revealed that 30% of executives anticipate reducing office space in the next three years as some of their employees will continue to work from home. All these changes indicate that our “new normal” will not be normal for some time. Whenever I am going through challenging times, I have adopted a mantra that I repeat over and over to myself. I say, “learn what you can from these challenges, so you reduce the chances that you ever have to suffer in the same way again.”
You and I have been thrust into this crazy season, and I want to encourage you not to waste this pandemic. What would it look like if you were to emerge from 2020 with something positive in which you can reflect? What would it look like if you were determined to improve something or learn something new during this stressful season? We may be victims of challenging circumstances; however, that does not have to be our only title. You have the authority to choose to also be victorious during these unfortunate circumstances. Let me suggest three of the many ways you can do this.
- Master something new. Determine to learn something new that brings positive energy to your life or the life of your family. What is it that you would love to learn or master? A musical instrument, another language, a new professional competency? Become determined to emerge out of this pandemic, having learned something new, positive, and energizing. Sometimes, our learning is blocked because of environmental cues, so it is essential to be deliberate about creating a space conducive to your learning.
- Lift up another. One of the things that happen when we are going through significant change is that we become very “inward-looking.” We tend to get lost in the negative aspects of our personal world and may lose sight of positive opportunities. Consider how you can regain a positive outward focus by helping someone else. Who could use a call from you? Are there volunteer opportunities in your community? Many studies have been done that show how powerful and positive it is for our brain to focus on helping others.
- Fix the Rudder. If you were granted some extra time in your schedule to correct something in your life, what would that be? Maybe you are like most Americans and find yourself quickly jumping to negative conclusions about other people. You don’t like that about yourself, so you take this time to focus on correcting this negative trend in your life. Maybe you have developed a bad habit, and you want to focus on overcoming this habit. For me, Fixing the Rudder was about correcting somethings in my business strategy that had been overlooked for some time. It is not that our strategy was bad; it was because it was not doing enough to help others.
Since you and I have to navigate these challenging times, let us resolve to ensure that something positive happens as a result. I have committed myself to launch a series of free webinars designed to help others. The list can be found at https://www.eddyspeaks.com/workshops. I am determined that “victim” will not be my primary title during this pandemic. To see ourselves as “victorious,” we must learn something new, help and serve others, or fix something that positively influences our future.
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For motivation and inspiration, follow John on twitter @Edwards_Group
