(Content of Full Focus newsletter – Mon, 6 Apr 2020)
Like us, you’ve no doubt had plenty of emails and communications over the last week. It can be pretty overwhelming, not to mention repetitive of something that’s not very good news. Not good at all.
Many of our business owners are feeling nervous, if not downright scared. There’s a lot to consider and the outlook seems bleak. It’s hard to know what’s going to happen, and it’s the unknown which is most unsettling of all. None of us know what we’re dealing with yet and you may be wondering how you’ll get to the other end.
There’s a new landscape to negotiate for many business owners. It can be hard to know what to do right now or which direction take in the weeks to come. It brings to mind the share market crash in 1987 during which we realised the rescue division from the bank WASN’T there to rescue our business owners … they were there to rescue the bank! A sorry lesson to learn and one we must heed in this current crisis.
Working with business owners for over 50 years, we’ve gone through some tough times – both theirs and ours. Confronting, life-grounding sit-you-on-your-arse kind of experiences. But there are some tried and tested things that have got us through in pretty good shape. We talk about 3 of them here.
We’ve also included 3 Youtube links which we urge you to watch.
1. Slow down – Why is it we tend to speed up when faced with a crisis. People are panicky.
It’s at times like these that you need to slow down. Take deep breaths. Be kind to yourself and look after yourself. This is critical because if you’re not OK, then you can ‘t help those around you. Take care of yourselves, your families, your loved ones. This is everything. Nothing else matters as much. Nothing.
A short 2 min clip that you must watch: The Chinese Farmer
2. What we can and can’t control. Time to prepare.
Draw two circles. In one circle write down what you can control. In the other write down what you can’t control. Don’t worry or stress about what’s in the circle you can’t control … there’s nothing you can do about it so let it go. Instead spend your energy in the circle you can control.
What if money was no object? 3 Minute video clip
3. Grief is normal.
“The blistering pace of this change from what used to be normal life is bewildering, worrying and almost like a state of grief …” (NZ Herald “Now comes the hard part”).
Most of us will feel grief in some form. We’re all going through a form of loss. It can help to recognise the different stages of grief … although they can come at you in no particular order.
• Anger … Denial
• Disequilibrium
• Depression … no ability to act/ no ability to make decisions
• Bargaining
• Acceptance
• Equilibrium
You can expect any of these feelings. Acknowledge what you’re feeling and why, and know you’ll get through it. Be kind to yourself and others.
Give this a try for keeping you healthy, balanced, centred and focused: 20 Minute Morning Qi Gong Exercise by Lee Holden
It can certainly help to talk to someone who’s been in this kind of situation before and the NZ Herald’s “Tips for operating through lockdown” quoted Andy Hamilton, founder of The Icehouse as “ …. recommending that Business Owners find a Mentor who has been through a recession to help them through.”
As always, we’re here for you should you want to chat by phone or skype.
You can call us on any of the numbers below, without any obligation.
Landine: 09 489 1650 | Kathy: 027 2800 564
We’ll be back soon with more snippets and resources that we hope will help in the coming weeks.