A shoe factory sends two salesmen to a region of Africa to study the prospects for expanding business.

One sends back a telegram saying:

SITUATION HOPELESS STOP NOONE WEARS SHOES

The other writes back excitedly:

INCREDIBLE BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY STOP THEY HAVE NO SHOES

In these times of unprecedented global crisis, it’s totally natural to focus on the negative, on fear of loss and worst-case scenarios. I mean, I live in New York.

But the world is only going to become more volatile and uncertain. So here’s a hard truth: if you’re in the habit of allowing external circumstances to dictate your mental state, you are going to feel increasingly powerless and out of control.

🆘 Because you can’t do your best thinking if you believe every passing thought and let your monkey mind run the show.

🆘 You can’t maintain a strong immune system when you’re constantly in “fight or flight” and flooding your body with stress hormones. 

🆘 You will lose the trust and respect of your team if you’re not able to be authentic and vulnerable, and own your emotions/fears.

One of my clients is a doctor on the front lines of the pandemic. We created a strategy to upgrade her thinking so that, even amidst all the things she can’t control (including toxic politics and incompetent management), she could stop wasting precious mental energy and lead through the chaos with authority and confidence.

Because while sleep, exercise and mindfulness are certainly beneficial, they don’t get to the root of the problem: identifying the interpersonal survival triggers and emotional loops that keep you addicted to the hormones of stress.

So this is the opportunity. Using the circumstances of a volatile world as a training ground, you can evolve to a place where you feel in control and calibrate your stress levels as easily as adjusting the dials on a stereo.

Where you’re able to transmute fear and worry into empowered action. Where you have radical acceptance of what’s happening and excitement about what’s possible.

Yes, even in the midst of a global pandemic. 

p.s. You still have to wash your hands!

p.s.ii. If ever there was a time to proactively develop your resilience and anti-fragility as a leader, it would be now. Schedule a call and let’s put together a game plan to take your VUCA leadership skills to the next level.