It’s the second week of confinement in Paris. It was tougher to set myself to work this morning than last Monday.  How about for you?

The realization hit.  BUMMER!  This thing is going to LAST. 

I’m going to need two vital skills:  Resilience & Endurance.

“It’s your reaction to adversity, not adversity itself that determines how your life’s story will develop.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf

Revolutionized World Overnight

I am reconnecting with friends by phone.  Many conversations begin with, “I can’t believe how our world has transformed, quasi overnight…” 

Last week’s vital skill:  Adaptability

Transformation went into full swing last week as companies put in place remote working and dealt with the overextended Internet.  Everyone had to be adaptable.

Did you too have the sound cut in videos and it took forever to exchange files?  We dealt with it.  If Internet cut, we used the phone.

Last week we were in frequent contact with colleagues.  We were establishing remote work.  This week we are trying to initiate “business as usual.”  That’s when we discover that we’ll need to change our weekly team meetings.  They were designed to be face-to-face.

Last week we understood when people checked in a few minutes late for the online meeting, but this week it’s less unacceptable.  That’s TOUGH, especially in cultures where the 9 o’clock meeting begins at 9:09.

On the personal front, maybe you had cleaning help and now….  Who will take the initiative to scrub the toilet and swipe off the toothpaste guck in the sink?!  And this is on top of extra childcare, longer lines for grocery shopping, and more.

What Skills for Today & Tomorrow:

Resilience & Endurance

We each want MORE than survival.  Thriving would be nice.  We want to grow.

In an ideal world, we hope for a perpetual upward trend.

OK, I can get my brain around the fact that there will be ups and downs.  But more ups than downs!

Now, with the upheaval of our society, I finally recognize that success might look more like this:

What are the keys to thriving in this confused context?

Have you tried to unwind an unruly KNOT?

As a child, I used to have long red hair that I could tuck into my pants…until my dad was in charge of me for a few days.  Unlike my mom, he did not brush my hair daily.  My hair got tangled up.  A little the first day.  More the next. Until the only solution was to cut my hair short. (Now it’s short!)

Hair is easy to fix.  Life, career, client and relationships, and family are another matter.  That’s why these are ESSENTIAL.

Resilience – noun.  The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness.

Endurance – noun.  The ability to bear an unpleasant or difficult process or situation without giving way.

Resilience BUILDING

How strong is your resilience?

Resilience is like a muscle.

When our resilience muscle is in shape, we can handle challenges and come out of top.  Obstacles are just that:  obstructions in our path that require a strategy to overcome. Until we reach the next one.  We might stumble, but we have the physical and mental strength to get up and try again.

When our resilience muscle is out of shape, obstacles become a wall.

That’s what I want to help you avoid.

PLEASE plant the tree before you need shade.

Huh?

You and I have a long, tough road ahead.  Life has always been a marathon…and this next one might take us through desert terrain.  We will need shade for restauration and a fresh perspective.

NOW is the time to build the resilience muscle.

That’s why, during confinement, I am posting a daily #ResilienceBuilder.  It’s one step to gain the positive mindset, the constructive communication skills, and the endurance to thrive, even during tough times.

It’s my gift to you and you’ll find it on the Facebook group #SafePlaceToTalkAboutWork.

Enjoy your daily #ResilienceBuilders…and good mood boosters! 😃

P.S. AND they are designed for YOU to buid resilience and for you to HELP YOUR TEAMS OR KIDS build resilience too.