Facing the Storm
In considering what my next post would be about I decided to sit aside discussing the benefits and features of our products and talk about the storm we are all going through. It is like the one ton gorilla in the room, ignoring it does not make it go away.
I have mentioned the winds of change and how strong this storm is. I have also discussed how important our attitude is toward the storm. We all know change is a part of life yet this storm has hit with unexpected strength.
We can and will survive this storm, these winds of change, but we need to understand how to harness the winds and get them to fill our sails and propel us forward.
It’s hard to stop a storm in progress and many times that is what we try to do. With that we waste a lot of time and energy trying to fight it instead of learning to adapt to it. Life is filled with unexpected situations and we learn to move along with the wind, if we don’t it can destroy us.
Maybe you are tempted to cling to the past in fear of what the future holds. Many business people, ordinary people hunker down, pull in because they fear the wind. The wind shifts direction and they scramble for security. I guess you could say we get stubborn and think “I just want it the way it was.”
The reality is that if we don’t learn to adapt to the winds of change, we will never enjoy life, much less grow our businesses. Change is frightening, uncertain and threatening, but it can also be healthy, dynamic, refreshing and necessary. To maintain our joy and peace of mind we must acceptance the fact that life is a journey and we will encounter storms at times. Growth in either business or personally is not found in navigating around the winds of change; it is found IN these changes.
If you have ever done any sailing you know that on the open sea you will encounter storms. An experienced captain knows that steering against hurricane winds can snap the ships mast like a tooth pick. Normally they will steer with the storm, that way they can pick up speed and avoid capsizing. If we take a life lesson from an experienced sea captain we can do the same and rethink the way we perceive the storm we are currently in.
I know, your saying “That sounds great, but I can not see when and how this is going to end.” Remember Winston Churchill once said at a very difficult time “If you are going through hell, keep going.” We MUST put our efforts toward the choice of looking beyond the storm. Not easy to do because as humans we usually look only at the problem. We become negative, depressed and desperate to escape from our pain and discomfort rather than looking beyond to the long-term effects.
Learning to adapt and change course to ride out the storm is not easy, we must do it to survive. You may be angry, afraid, depressed, and anxious. The storm may be on the verge of claiming your boat. You are going to make it. We will all make it through the storm. Life may look different when this storm is over, we will have grown in ways that today we can not even imagine.
It is also important to find your anchor. Mine is Jesus Christ. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8)
I hold on to verses such as Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord. They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
Quote of the week: “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.” Maya Angelou
