During the past several weeks, the idea of moving forward is not in most people’s minds. Most people are in survival mode which prevents forward movement. Surviving might get you through COVID-19, but it won’t break the status quo.
What is the difference? Surviving feels like resistance and stagnation. Avoidance and deflection are part of the survivalist tool kit.
You are in survival mode if:
- Excessively blame others for current life status.
- Negative energy dominates life.
- Hunkered down to wait out the pandemic.
- Avoid action steps toward opportunities.
- Tell yourself that tomorrow you will start feeling, acting, being different.
- Fear is your predominate emotion.
- Pivoting another direction feels impossible.
- Incessantly watch the news.
Surviving is for immediacy; it is not to be a long-term strategy. A survival kit is not the same as a thrive kit. Survival kits provide band-aids to get through the moment, but slapping band-aids on a gaping wound won’t stop the bleeding.
Thriving means taking new action. Changing your thinking. Not allowing the outside circumstances to determine your course of action.
There are companies, couples, and individuals who are thriving during the pandemic. How? They aren’t trying to survive this time; they are searching for solutions to problems. Call them thought leaders, forward-thinkers, optimists or just plain acknowledge that they don’t allow outside events to regulate their thought flow.
To move forward in this time, you must be the driver of your ship. Here are the characteristics needed to move forward:
- Challenge yourself to think, “So what? What now?”
- Believe there are answers to the obstacles facing you.
- Seek support and guidance from others.
- Believe that hope is larger than your imaginations.
- See failure as part of the process toward success.
- Leave blame out of the equation and focus on what action steps are possible.
- Accept a new normal and flow with it.
There is no power in fear, blame, or excuses. Power comes from taking responsibility from where you are to where you want to go. Power is letting go of what was and accepting what is.
The world will always be unpredictable and uncertain. Fighting what you cannot control is futile, but you have the power to remain grounded and choose new paths. By personifying what you want to experience, your experience becomes you. The two are inseparable.
**Sherry Winn is a Two-Time Olympian, National Championship Coach, and Award-Winning Speaker and Author. To receive a free coaching call to move you to the possible, contact her at sherry@thewinningleadershipcompany.com.
