Everybody Hurts (Sometimes)

“If you are alive, you are going to have to deal with some tough times.” - Dr. Lucy Hone

September already! Spring has arrived, the days are getting longer, warmer and summer is on its way - how very nice.

Typically, at this time of year I see an overall lift in spirits. But things seem to feel very gloomy right now.

Everything is expensive. Everyone is doing it tough. The cost of living is not just hurting families personally, but the ‘cost of doing business’ is deeply hurting organisations across all sectors. No one appears to be immune.

And when we’re hurting… we disconnect and disengage.

At a recent staff catch-up, the Proteus team shared how all our clients are in fact hurting right now – it started gradually, then it hit suddenly.

Lead times are getting longer, and doing ‘standard’ business is becoming more difficult. People are bunkering down, switching off and becoming passive. Getting a simple response has now turned into a major challenge. Not to mention getting a straight answer or decision. It feels like we’re being ghosted at work!

This might be an okay short-term approach to try and stay sane for your immediate survival. But it’s a very dangerous way of operating, especially if you’re playing the longer game.

What we need is a better way for our organisational health and prosperity. By building great relationships, along with the need for continual renewal.

Acknowledging The Pain

Yes, we need to create a psychologically safe space where we can openly share our pain. There’s a beautiful sense of team unity that comes from being honest and transparent. By openly acknowledging our struggles together, without fear of retribution or the pressure to find an immediate solution. Right now in this very moment, it’s enough to admit that everyone, and everything, is hurting.

However, the key is to not continue to dwell and overindulge on all our pain… but by knowing how to move forward.

One of my favourite TED Talks is Dr. Lucy Hone’s The Three Secrets of Resilient People, where she reminds us that “adversity doesn’t discriminate.” She pushes us to reframe our mindset, by encouraging us to guide our decisions and future actions, especially in tough times.

Helping or Harming?

Dr. Hone gives us a simple but powerful tool – a question that we should be asking ourselves constantly: “Is what I’m doing or thinking, helping or harming me?”

I can tell you one thing – being passive, with a bias for inaction, is not just harming you. It’s hurting everyone within your inner circle, along with the community at large.

We need to start building great mindset skills right now. It’s the only way that we’ll adapt, thrive and grow through adversity. Doing this, instead of just waiting around for the external conditions to improve.

We need to be doing things that will help our cause. Not just for the immediate term, but for the future. Where we can give ourselves and each other hope.

To do that, we’ve got to get proactive. Separate what we can control from what we can’t. Let go of the things that we can’t control. Then with a bias for action, move forward and start regaining momentum.

Because it’s our mindsets, our stories, and our internal beliefs that will ultimately shape our reality. By focusing on building a positive, pragmatically optimistic mindset, only then will we start to influence our external circumstances with better future outcomes.

Wishing you a wonderful week of reframing your mindsets.

Richard Dore
CEO - Director of Partnerships
Proteus Leadership