We know that the world is in a frenzy right now, and we want to do our part to help things feel less panic-driven and more normalized. It’s all about Perspective. We’d like to help you make the most out of the current circumstances, because limitations create opportunities. When your camera lens is blurry, you shift the focus until things become clear and you can get your shot. How can we transfer this metaphor into real-life actionable items? We’ve got four concepts to facilitate this process:
Gratitude: this might seem like a strange first step, but hear us out. If all you think about is that things are going wrong, then you’re going to stress yourself out, your immune system will suffer, and you’ll be more likely to be physically affected by external factors. Let's start off simple: we're grateful for the Wi-Fi signal that allows us to stay connected, and enables so many of us to do our jobs from the safety and comfort of our homes. Look around you. What are you grateful for? You can be thankful for the sturdiness of the table you're working from, the window by your desk that allows you to take in some nature, the birds chirping, etc. The more things you can think of, the better your mood and disposition will be!
Creativity: if you have to think about it, when was the last time you had to use your creative juices? It most likely was when you’ve needed to (or had no other choice), right? The fact is that our creativity shines when we’re faced with a problem and have to think of alternatives to fix it. So let’s push ourselves to be creative in every way, even “spinning” the situation to make us feel like it’s for our benefit. Forget social distancing, this is self-care time! Need to entertain (and maybe even home-school) the kids? This could be a great opportunity for you to remember your childhood and re-connect with your kids in new ways. Everything can be looked at from a different angle, and there's no better time to get creative than now.
Balance: for the majority of us, we can't remember a time where the planet as a whole was facing the same set of forced circumstances and the guidance to stay inside for an extended period of time, yet here we are. Life is a roller coaster, and for there to be ups we have to accept and embrace the downs as well. Sometimes balance is forced upon us, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing, and we can find positives in everything. Our carbon emissions, for example, have been lower for the past few weeks for the first time in years. This is a welcome relief for the environment, and much needed in our quest to stop and reverse climate change. We have been on the same path for years, and we may have thought it was impossible to reverse it. We're being reminded now that this balance is indeed possible!
Empathy: being empathetic to the plights of others is a precious skill and invaluable in life and business. Understanding someone’s pain can make the world turn, and it empowers people to make changes and work for others. We should tap into our empathy bucket, and send thoughtful and positive wishes to many groups of people right now, including the medical professionals on the frontlines treating patients with the virus, law enforcement officials ensuring people are safely indoors, delivery personnel ensuring we all can stay inside while remaining well stocked on food and essentials, pharmacists, restaurant staff, etc. and also all of the people who find themselves out of a job and figuring out where their next paycheck is coming from due to this situation. And if we can think of a way to improve their lives, we absolutely should!
The point of all of this is: we have the power to make the most of what is happening today. Your next favorite song or joke haven’t been written yet. The next genius product hasn’t been invented or patented. We’re all invited to make our next great contribution, which maybe wouldn’t have come to our brains had we not been forced to stay inside for a few weeks. If you take one thing away from this, let it be the following:
If we change our perspective, we can change the world.