You may have read this email I sent out a few weeks ago. Whether you read it or didn’t here it is again. It’s on the house…
“I hope this message finds you well and I hope you are adapting to your new daily routines as best as possible. Charles Darwin said it is not the strongest of the species who survive, nor the most intelligent who survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to change. Now would be a good time to be adaptable to change.
No doubt about it, adapting to change is hard and can take its toll.
If you have felt anxious, confused, over-whelmed, stressed or afraid this past week, know that you are not
alone. Most of us aren’t sleeping as soundly as we normally would. But it’s important to know there are things we can all do to better navigate the coming weeks and months. And to adapt to change more easily.
I’m reminding the team at Clarke & Roskrow that although there are so many things outside of their control, the one thing we can all control is our mind and what we choose to focus on. The sun is still going to rise every day, and our job is to make sure we do the right things every day for ourselves, our families and our communities. Plugging into all the fear and feeding that into your head all day long is not helping. Constantly checking the news, emails, websites, blogs, forums, and social media is NOT how you get the best out of yourself.
You need to give yourself the mental space to think clearly. Stay informed but control your intake. Be intentional about how and when you check the news. Make a good old-fashioned to-do list for your day with pen and paper, instead of living in your head and being bombarded with 1000 thoughts a minute. You might not be able to control coronavirus. You might not be able to control what everyone else is doing. Or how responsible people are being. But you can control your day. And you can control what you focus on. As the song by Jools Holland goes, we need to “Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive and Eliminate the Negative”. Fixate on the positive. Fixate on the possible. Fixate on the hope.
There are a lot of awful situations happening around the world right now. You are going to hear about it all in the
coming weeks whether you like it or not. Just turn on the TV or radio or go online. You can’t miss it. But be fair to yourself and your sanity and choose to focus more on the good things that are happening right now.
Parents are being more patient and more present with their kids. 40+ year old men like me are calling their mum every single day to talk and check in (rather than the usual once a week-ish in normal times!) Teams of people are looking out for one-another and pulling together in amazing and self-less ways. Our village has set-up a WhatsApp group for older members of the community who might be feeling lonely, isolated, or are unable to go shopping or get their medications. Our very own Tina has been doing voluntary work helping the elderly in her local area. Strangers are being kinder to one another. Most of us are trying to be better human beings. There is good in everything and this crisis is no different. Good will come from it.
I realise this is affecting everyone in different ways and some of you will be having a good day today, and others will be having a bad day. There will be ups and downs, and each day will be different. I’m the same, with my own ups and downs to deal with.
Tomorrow is a new day. So, hang in there and keep going. There is an old Dale Carnegie quote I like. He said, “The toughest job I will ever face is the management of Dale Carnegie.” Too true.
The toughest but most important job you have right now is to manage yourself everyday.
You can do this.”
