What I am realising is that this “new normal” will require me to step up as a business owner, as a woman and as a leader 

Last week I walked into a grocery store and for the first time ever, shelves and whole aisles were empty.  I felt fear.

Then one by one my clients called or emailed me to let me know that they were putting their hiring requirements and their team improvement projects on hold.  So, one by one my income disappeared, and I felt a whole lot more fear – the gut wrenching, mind flying in a million directions at once, panic kind of fear. 

My mind was frantically racing to figure out what to do and how to tell my team.  And as my mind raced, I was also frozen and unable to choose a way forward.    

Things shifted for me last Thursday when I did my yoga and a guided meditation to calm the fear.  As soon as I finished, I felt a profound sense of relief and relaxation.  Since then I’ve practiced that meditation daily and the relief I’ve felt has given me the space to stop and reflect on who I want to be and how I want to show up now and going forward in this “new normal”.

Are you going to let your fears dictate your path? Or are you going to RISE UP and lead others through this storm? 

Social distancing, business shutdowns and a mass movement to virtual work along with self-isolation and the shutdown of non-essential services have all of a sudden given us time.  Way more time than most of us have ever experienced outside of the occasional vacation.  And because this is so new, most of us do not know how to fill that time, so we turn to social media and TV.  Which of course doesn’t help, because it’s filled with reports of more and more cases of infection, death and other sensational stories of the pandemic which only has one result: MORE FEAR.  Yet other than taking the precautions the scientific and medical communities have offered, there really is very little we can do.

In this time of uncertainty, I’ve been getting a great deal of comfort from the simple prayer shared at every 12-step program out there (thanks for the reminder Kenn)

“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,

the courage to change the things that I can; and

the wisdom to know the difference.”

We have an incredible opportunity to change the things that we can right now.  And what we can change is how we react.  Are you going to rise up and lead others through this storm or are you going to drop into the fear and join the panic?   

Take the time to stop and reflect on how you want to show up

For me that means that I stop hiding, and I show people all of me.

When I read that sentence it sounds so simple, but for me it’s been a lifelong learning because of my family’s background.  You see, I am the child of refugees.  My father was 12 and my mother was 7 when WWII ended.  The war had taken their homes, all their belongings, their communities, their friends and many from their families.  What was left of their families moved through a series of refugee camps over a 2-year period before they could be resettled in Germany.  The war, that experience and the collective hatred of Germans made a profound impact on my parents.  They saw first-hand what would happen if they drew attention to themselves and stood out.

To keep my brother and I safe when we were growing up, we had a lot of family rules and they all had one message: “hide” “don’t draw attention to yourself” “blend in” “stay quiet” because if you stand out you die.

That’s some powerful programing! 

My parents went through great uncertainty and immense fear.  That fear was passed to the next generation because it wasn’t healed.  And here we are in an unparalleled time filled with fear on a global scale. My question to you is how are you going to show up? And what are you teaching your children, your team, your vendors, your customers, potential customers and your community?

We have an opportunity to heal the fear, rise above it and lead when everyone around us is falling apart and it starts with self-care and introspection.

I’ve been called to create an online learning program that will help you do just that.  Thriving Through Change will have 3 main focuses:

1. Self-care practices – To reduce fear and get you centered in your own power, I will be sharing what’s worked for me. You’ll learn simple yoga, breathing, meditation and visualization practices to stay in your power.
2. Conscious Culture Creation – We all walk around with our own powerful programing learned from the generations that came before us. That programing affects everything that we do, including how we show up in our business and the company culture we create. I will be sharing processes to uncover your own programing so you can create your company culture consciously.
3. Business Planning – history has shown us that economic downturns are followed by economic upswings. I will be showing you how to prepare yourself, your business and your team for that upswing.

Stay tuned for more information in the coming days.

FREE RESOURCES:

In the meantime, here are 2 free webinars you can access to help you navigate the “new normal”.

I’ll leave you with a little inspiration:

“When the world became fearsome, we came together. When the world called us to explore its edges, we journeyed together. Whatever we did, we did it together. For as long as we’ve been around as humans, as wandering bands of nomads or cave dwellers, we have sat together and shared experiences.  We’ve painted images on rock walls, recounted dreams and visions, told stories of the day, and generally felt comforted to be in the world together.” – Margaret Wheatley

We will get through this together.  Angela

                          Angela