Choosing Optimism

My good friend, Rick Gray, shared this with me recently, and I found it full of good reminders and inspiration. It’s a great reminder of how important community is––now and always.

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“Here are a few of my takeaways from the past 2 weeks. I think they can be helpful for you as well:

• Don’t just endure this situation, emerge. In this environment, it’s crucial to play to win, don’t play not to lose.  If you focus on circumstances, you will lose. If you focus on your capacity, and the systems and processes you control, you will win. Now is the time to reinvent yourself and your business. Don’t operate out of a fear of loss. Instead, anticipate where things are going in your industry and reset. Rethink your strategies.
• Put your arms around people and check on them through direct phone calls. Now is the time to connect with people like crazy. How can you add value to people?
• Be over prepared but don’t worry. Do the best you can and let the rest go. Get your mind right and focus on what you control. What are you looking to accomplish? Master your skill and don’t just seek out comfort.
• Fear is our biggest enemy as it causes us to stop and be paralyzed. As Roosevelt said, “we have nothing to fear but fear itself.” Don’t freeze. Now is the time to take action.
• Avoid negative media, especially in the evenings when your brain will process it overnight. End your days with fun things and gratitude. Think about what you are grateful for right before you go to bed. Writing in a journal is very helpful with this. OWN your life and don’t blame others.
• Now is the time for learning, changing how we do things like leveraging technology better and implementing action. Now is not the time to cut back and freeze.
• We are moving into a new era. We live in a global scenario. We source locally but live globally.
• Nothing is ever lost, it is just moved. Who else needs what you do? What else do my current clients need that I can provide? Don’t be in sales, be in service.
• What has changed and what is changing for good? Focus on the new way of doing things and communicating with people. Help them adjust. There is going to be a huge surge in demand in most markets in the coming months, so be prepared and have capacity.
• Who you are around and talking with regularly is very impactful. I personally have experienced this lately, big swings of emotion based on what narrative I chose to listen to and think about. Surround yourself with the best information and people who are taking positive steps to re-invent themselves. STAY away from social media, negative news, negative people! It’s really crucial to think things out and have successful people around us. WE can be that person for others as well. LEAD people and don’t get sucked into all the negative uncertainty others are allowing to rule their lives.
• Perspective is key. We have dealt with a lot of tough situations and always come out stronger for it. WWI, the Great Depression, WWII , Korea, Vietnam, , the savings and loan collapse, Y2K, the dotcom bubble, Sept. 11th 2001, SARS, the houseing bubble and recession of 2008, H1N1, EBOLA, Covid -19. Covid-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, isn’t the fist life-threatening disease that has surged around the world, nor will it be the last. We’ll need to work together to limit exposure to one another, especially older adults and people with underlying illness who have the greatest risk of developing severe symptoms.
• We don’t need to panic. Remember: the vast majority of COVID-19 cases are mild. But we do need to take action to contain the spread and protect those who are most vulnerable.”

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Thanks, Rick! I found his mindset helpful, and I hope you do, too.

Much love to you and yours,

Erin