We are all doing our best to navigate uncharted waters in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic. Recently, I listened to Author, Brendon Burchard‘s Podcast, Fear, Focus & Forecasting. He believes that beyond primal fear – which is reactive & impulsive – the kind that we have no conscious ability to reason with, there are only 3 reasons fear shows up in our lives. He encourages us to start with an understanding of where our fear is coming from before we allow it to take over our emotions, thoughts & actions. Once we can put our fear into perspective, with our rational brain, we can begin taking proactive steps to gain control and move the dial on what we can do to reduce fear & improve our situation. The only way beyond this crisis is through.
What Is The Pain We Fear?
Loss Pain – What am I afraid I’m going to lose? At this moment it could include; loss of my good health, loss of business income, loss of steady work, loss of loved ones, loss of household income, loss of customers, etc.
Gain Perspective by asking: Have I been here before? (closest comparison might be global financial crisis of 2008 or 911). Can I remember a time when I couldn’t work, lost my biggest client, got laid off – did I bounce back? What did I do to regain my footing? Is there a revenue stream I’ve been considering that I can act on or learn more about?
Process Pain – The fear of the hardship that this significant change will place on my business, my family, people who work for me, vendors I work with, small businesses in my community, etc.
Gain Perspective: What do I have control over at this moment? How can I ease the impact? What steps can I take right now? What have I done in the past that helped? How can I influence how others’ are feeling or responding? What am I doing to relieve the stress of the situation?
Outcome Pain – The fear of what the worst-case scenario might look like; fear of my business failing, financial ruin, postponed retirement or even death.
Gain Perspective: I’ve never been through a situation exactly like this, but what does history tell me that might be beneficial? Have I had these concerns before – I got through it – what did I do? How do I prioritize my health? What are the facts? What are my options? What are others considering? What have I experienced in the past? Who do I know that has the expertise that will help me put a plan in place? What new tools/information/resources are available that I can apply to reduce the short-term/long-term impact?
Fear is a normal reaction to ambiguity and change. We are stronger than we think. We do have control over our emotional reaction and the impact it has on our decision making and our future. If we flip the script and not let fear consume our thoughts we can respond with positive movement & see results. The movement and results might look very different than it did yesterday – but we might also find an answer to What might I gain? What will I be proud of when I look back?
Shelli Walker is a Partner with PeopleResults. Follow her on twitter @ShelliWalker or connect via email at swalker@people-results.com.
