Three Ways to Flex Your Flexibility During Uncertainty
We have certainly learned in the last year that flexibility is crucial to move forward in business. Actually, this has always been the case, but the Pandemic has placed this idea front and center.
I view flexibility a little differently than most, and I wanted to share what has worked well for me and my clients in the past year. What I discovered is how important “Thought Flexibility” is in moving forward in uncertain times.
“Thought Flexibility” is thinking and speaking a new language. This language consists of thoughts and words that reinforce a vision of Abundance, Possibility, Listening, Harmony and Gratitude.
A great example is when my 7th book, Generation Why Not?® The 7 Principles of a Purposeful Business & Life, Driven by Attitude, Not Age, was published four days after the California Lockdown.
Companies that were interested in making large purchases for my book to give to their employees as well as clients fell by the wayside.
I was on my way to become a New York Times bestselling book author and BOOM…it all went up in smoke!
Here are Three Ways I Flexed my Flexibility:
1. Clear Any Thought Not in Harmony with What I Wanted
I had to clear any thought that wasn’t in harmony with moving forward. I’m not going to tell you it was easy, because it wasn’t. I’m also not going to tell you it happened right away, because it didn’t.
But what I am going to share with you is that I had to clear any thought that wasn’t in harmony with what I wanted…to get my book out to as many people as I could.
I had to be extremely aware of my thoughts and what I was saying to myself and to others in order to not perpetuate any negativity… it wasn’t easy although I refocused on what I could do, not what I could no longer do.
2. Keep Focused on My Overall Intention
I had to keep focused on my overall Intentional Thought (and words) for my book which was: “Get this book into as many people’s hands as possible as it is a survival guide for business and for living a productive and happy life.”
I had to keep asking myself, “What is the best use of my time RIGHT NOW?”
I would find that I would go off into a daydreaming period thinking of all the I things that I couldn’t do because of the lockdown and the virus. I experienced how easy it was to go down the rabbit hole of “things aren’t working out” and “this book launch is doomed.”
Intention is often underrated, and yet, it is the driving force and the direction of what we want. It is the vision that we hold for ourselves and our businesses.
3. Self-Care Increased My Flexibility of Thought
I had to look through a different perceptual lens of what just happened and figure out another way to move forward. I had to let go of blaming, judgement, and criticism of myself and others.
And the best way I could do that was to take care of myself. When you’re more relaxed, your creative juices flow easier and abundantly. Things that you do that make you feel good for your mind, body and spirit will be good for your business and life, in general!
Someone I was dating years ago asked what I did for fun. I didn’t know how to answer that simple question. If he would have asked what I like to DO for fun, I would have listed off many things…but when it came down to what I was actually DOING that was fun…whoa!!! That caught me off guard!
It literally took me over a week to figure out what I actually did for fun. Why did it take so long? Because I wasn’t doing anything for fun. Even my daily walks weren’t fun because I felt pressed for time as I was taking the walk.
So, when I started to take care of myself and allow my mind to wonder and not think of anything, I was able to creatively come up with new options.
I started walking along the beach for an hour while just letting my thoughts wander. When I caught myself going down the “blame or judgement” route, I stopped those thoughts and returned to thinking of nothing but the beautiful ocean waves.
And here’s what helped me focus on what I wanted, cleared my critical “dejected” thoughts, and allowed me to open up to creative options:
- Walking along the beach an hour most days
- Dancing at home during self-imposed “breaks”
- Journaling in the mornings
- Focus on what I was grateful for when my thoughts went to what I had not achieved.
So, at the end of the day, Thought Flexibility is helpful in working and living through uncertain times. The reality is that life is uncertain…period! The pandemic just put truth front and center!
I’d love to hear what you do to flex your flexibility. It is our thoughts, words and perceptions that will help us move forward or keep us stuck.
I choose to move forward! What about you?
