Emotional Resilience
In the month of January I ran over a dozen ‘new year’ coaching sessions with some of my former clients. As well as being thoroughly enjoyable from my perspective, it was a great insight into the wide range of experiences and emotions felt by business leaders after a year of upheaval.
In this third phase of lockdown, my sense is that more people have been finding it difficult. Maybe it’s the weather or just the fact that it’s been almost a year since we had a ‘normal’ life.
Interestingly people seem to be more open about saying they are struggling than I ever remember.
Even school children have been taught about mental health issues and start to notice or be concerned about friends who may be struggling.
One of the most striking things about the sessions I had with my business clients was their mental strength and resilience. It’s fair to say that none of them have had the year they expected and whilst one or two have found new opportunities, for the vast majority it has been a year to shelve their growth plans and be grateful their business has survived without too many scars.
Coping with uncertainty and carrying the responsibility for the job security of staff is no small achievement and yet with our usual benchmark of a ‘good’ year being financial performance, it’s hard to for anyone to feel they were successful.
Resilience and mental strength are core competences for anyone who has the courage to run their own business but these have been challenging times even for the best of us.
There has been a lot written about building emotional resilience, however three main things stand out for me:
Focus on your relationships. Extend your circle of close contacts, reach out to others. I’m not talking about the meaningless numbers games of social media contacts – this is about nurturing relationships with real people you know and like, where you have a shared interest in both personal and professional aspects of your life. Our connections can be a source of support, inspiration, opportunity and joy.
Maintain a positive mindset. Manage your thoughts. One of my favourite subjects when working with clients… I could write all day about this. Our life experience is defined by our thoughts and how we see the world around us. By building our awareness and making positive choices about our mindset we can change all our life experiences
Caring for yourself. Physical and mental health starts with looking after ourselves properly. Meeting our basic needs of good food, staying physically active and getting enough rest ensure we have the energy to live life to the full, make our best contribution and be there for others. I would also add to the list making time to do things that you love, just for fun and because you can.
For me the most striking (and sometimes worrying!) aspect is knowing that what happens next lies in our own hands. We have both the power and the responsibility to pick ourselves up, reset our course and see what new opportunities and adventures await us.
“Do not judge me by my success, judge me by how many times I fell down and got back up again”
