Words that caught us: W is for Wayfinding (Part 6)

Our culture of shaming failure,

Craving linearity,

And expecting immediate results,

Presents a big challenge in Wayfinding,

Especially now, that we are dealing with

An unexplored phenomenon*.

 

Nothing is guaranteed to work.

 

There is a high likelihood

That some of our initiatives will fail;

Others will not yield immediate results,

And, for some time, it’ll be difficult to tell

If they are working, or not;

For others, the outcomes

Might be very different from what we anticipated.

 

Indeed, this has been our personal experience.

No one week, has been the same, as the other.

Volatility and uncertainty are at an all-time high!

 

Moving forward is a leap of faith!

 

How will we deal with this unknowingness?

How will we handle failure and disappointment?

How do we prepare ourselves

For the inevitable ‘start-stop-start’,

That comes with experimentation and exploration?

 

Perhaps the answer lies in, continuously,

Building our personal resilience.

 

But what does this look like, in practice?

 

We can start by accepting the reality

That things are likely get tougher and messier,

Before they are better;

And no one really knows how long it’ll take,

Or how bad they’ll get.

We may wish it was more predictable and linear,

But it’s wise to accept and expect,

That it’s more likely to be the opposite.

Knowing and accepting this reality,

And identifying the obstacles on our way,

Is a good beginning, in building resilience.

 

Next, we would be wise  

To focus our energies,

On our spheres of influence.

The bad economy is just that. Bad.

Worrying and complaining about it

Won’t change a thing;

But the opportunities that arise out of it, is our play.

COVID is what it is. We can’t change that.

But we can choose to practice kindness,

And to take care of ourselves, and our loved ones.

The media is what it is. It’s incentivized and optimized

To push ‘pants-on-your-seat’ kind of news.

But we can choose if, when, where and how

We consume the news.

It’s critical, now more than ever,

That we know where to direct our meagre resources.

That’s an essential attribute, in building resilience.

 

Third, is to be deliberate

In scheduling and allocating time for self-care.

If we do not invest heavily in our effectiveness,

Even a light wind is likely to blow us away.

Allocating time for exercise,

Having enough sleep,

Practicing mindfulness and gratefulness,

Staying connected to family and friends,

Setting value-based boundaries,

Eating well and drinking enough water,

Building reservoirs for inspiration and optimism,

Will help to keep us physically,

Emotionally and spiritually healthy.

The challenge here isn’t so much

In knowing what we should do,

But rather, in overcoming a cultural attitude

That sees these activities as mere indulgences.

Beginning to see that self-care

Is an investment in our effectiveness,

Is a huge step, in building personal resilience.

 

Finally, it’s wise to expect resistance,

From ourselves, and others.

Changing our habits won’t happen overnight;

And not everybody will like or support

All of our choices and initiatives.

Resistance is an ongoing indicator,

Of the health of our transformation.

Here is where recruiting

Effective accountability partners,

And joining supportive tribes, can really help.

 

We believe that these 4 practices are essential

In building our personal resilience,

To stay the course in Wayfinding.

 

Anything else you can add?

What’s your plan for keeping the energy,

Enthusiasm and discipline required, to stay on course?

 

POSTSCRIPT

Four obstacles stand in our way of building personal resilience.

1. First, we live in a culture that values tangibles over intangibles, that looks down on the ‘inner journey’, and that sees practices in building personal resilience as selfish indulgences, rather than investments in self-effectiveness. This is changing, if the popularity of wellness programs is anything go by. But its still not a mainstream attitude, and most of us will find it hard to overcome it. And those that do, may find it hard to get support for the practices, and gain their acceptance.
2. Second, the activities for building personal resilience fall in the category, variously referred to as ‘personal victory’ (Stephen Covey), and ‘self-masterly’ (Robin Sharma). Some people dismiss these as wishy washy self-help stuff. So, they shy away and don’t commit to the process.
3. Third, we usually relegate practices to the bottom of our to-do lists, which in itself, speaks volumes in how much we value them. We all know what happens when exercise and meditation comes last, at the end of the day, on Friday. The scheduling, itself, becomes a bottleneck. Meaning, even well meaning individuals will rarely find time to undertake these practices.
4. Fourth, we often abandon these practices immediately we are out of the crisis e.g. we stop exercising when we get back into shape, or stop visioning once we think we have our purpose all figured out. But the importance of resilience is to be prepared when disaster strikes, which often happens suddenly, without warning. So the secret to resilience is to build these practices into our daily habits and routines. That kind of discipline is very hard to cultivate.  

But here’s the good news. If we can overcome these 4 obstacles, we shall have found the Holy Grail for keeping the energy, enthusiasm and discipline required in Wayfinding.

*’Unexplored’ is a term Jordan Peterson uses to describe experiences for which we have no previous mental models or patterns of thought.

**Here’s Parts 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 of our Wayfinding series. Next week will be the final part.

***Today’s reflection was inspired by Ed Batista.

****We believe that the strategies for handling resistance in change management, such as those recommended here by Marjorie Derven, are also useful and applicable to personal transformation.