“Your mind only thinks two kinds of thoughts: Thoughts about things you can control and thoughts about things you cannot control. The majority of the thoughts that pass through your mind are about things you cannot control.” — The Joy of Genius by Gay Hendricks
This may not be the perfect post but I feel an urgency to offer hope and optimism right now. And quite frankly, I don’t shoot for the perfect post but aim to offer relevance and meaning.
The news is overflowing with alerts and warnings on the COVID-19 virus. It’s serious and we should be concerned of the short-term and long-term impacts to our health, our economy and most important our spirit. I admit, I went to the grocery store to stock up on groceries to make sure that I had enough for my family over the next few weeks of uncertainty.
At work, a big portion of our work is in-person meetings for our clients and we are cancelling several conferences and events with significant financial implications. The future is uncertain and there are many reasons to be concerned. AND, in the midst of understandable fear, we must dig deep, muster hope and tap into our resilience, into our ability and capacity to rise above our current circumstances. Worry and consternation creates murkiness when we need clarity. Hope is active. Optimism is a strategy.
Angela Duckworth defines “grit” as mental toughness. “Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality. Grit is living life like it's a marathon, not a sprint,” say Duckworth in her Ted Talk and book on Grit.
Fear always hold us back in both our daily internal battles and external crises that we are in the midst of right now. Hope, optimism, diligence and resilience expand the horizon, create new thinking and prompt actions that move us out of scarcity and hording into abundance and generosity.
During this time of “social distancing” and hunkering down at home, dare to be quiet, to dig deeper, to listen to yourself to prompt necessary change to live your best life. Be smart in this crisis. Do not diminish anyone’s fear and anxiety. Offer hope and light in the storm. Be a model of resilience, immune to fear and let go of things you can’t control.
“Let go or let be—it never gets any more complicated than that. Notice the grip, release the grip, let it drop or let it be. It’s the simplest thing in the world and yet so hard for most of us to learn in real life,” advises Gay Hendricks.
The one thing that you can do when faced with this current external crisis or internal crisis or future crisis – BREATHE! Take a breath, listen, be mindful and aware and then let go of the unnecessary. Life is short regardless of any virus. Do things that matter, be kind to others and yourself and let go of the past and fear. Embrace this day, starting and finishing things that matter.