Life is not selective. I was talking to some friends and the impact of the present global crisis varies.
Some are impacted economically . . . some are minimally impacted.
Some have family they are grateful to be with . . . and are driving them crazy.
Some people are alone and isolated in their homes fighting to stay mentally healthy.
Some are angry . . . some are scared. . . . some are content.
All have life going on.
Whether in crisis or not adversity comes through unforeseen circumstances that may impact us financially, emotionally, socially, or at a deeper level.
About a month ago I heard leadership expert John Maxwell highlight principles on dealing with adversity.1 From my notes these are a few ideas which I hope encourage and/or challenge you today.
Perspective
John pointed out life is full of both good and bad, but we can choose our attitude. Let me illustrate this from a different perspective. Tim Grover was the personal strength coach for elite basketball players like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant. In his book Relentless 2(NOTE: if you do read it be warned the language, etc. can be strong) he describes three types of athletes: Coolers, Closers, and Cleaners.
Another way to describe these people are good, great, and unstoppable. Kobe and Michael were the last, but why? Because they had an attitude that “it” was going to get done. Nothing was going to stop them from achieving their goals. Grover had to work harder to prevent them from overtraining than to get them to train at their highest level. These two athletes continually chose an unstoppable attitude and their results demonstrate the effect.
Thinking
You may be believe perspective and thinking are the same . . . kind of, but stick with me. John highlighted in this talk that what we focus on expands. During this time you may have heard the idea “feed your faith, starve your fears.” Where our thinking goes so goes our results.
Maybe right now money is a concern either personally or from a cashflow standpoint for your organization. If we focus our thinking on worrying “will the money come?” We are feeding worry and will eventually get ourselves stuck.
On the other hand, if we add one word: “how will the money come?” or even better change the question entirely to “what need can we meet?” We have now shifting from feeding fear and worry to feeding faith and hope. This is not easy but pay attention to which you are feeding and shift to feeding the one which will move you forward.
Action
I have heard it said that emotion is simply energy in motion. We’ve all heard and even felt the “I don’t feel like it” excuse. Have you ever tried something new and worried excessively at first only to realize it wasn’t that bad after all?
Think about it, when we learned to ride a bike, we didn’t think and have the best attitude to make it reality . . . we got on the bike. We maintained the proper perspective and thinking whenever we fell, got back on and eventually one day could ride with no hands. None of that happens unless we get in motion.
Friend, I am not sure what you are going through beyond the common struggle we all are having right now but know this. You have what it takes to lead your team, organization, family, and yourself through this. What is an adjustment you need to make today in one of these three areas? If you want me to come alongside you and your team to help process leading through adversity, contact me. Lead well!
© 2020 Wheeler Coaching Systems, All Rights Reserved
- Leading Through Adversity talk by John C. Maxwell https://youtu.be/UZp7nCLICyc
- Grover, Tim S. Relentless: From Good to Great to Unstoppable. Scribner, 2013.
