A new look through my foggy lenses

Ilse Klink

When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves – Dr Viktor Frankl

For many of us the pandemic of 2020 has stopped us in our tracks. All those New Year’s resolutions, all those grand plans, all of those manifestations have been put on ice. Now, we make room for new ones.

A little lost

But, what are they? How do we move forward without the feeling of hopelessness, without the feeling of grand confirmation about the rumour, that most of the employed will find their jobs and livelihoods redundant? Well, this is it, this is the moment, it’s here.

We have found ourselves in a desperate scramble to recreate the way we go about earning our money and remaining relevant. The situation we find ourselves in is not necessarily the problem, but the solution. It’s in our attitude. We have been granted a golden opportunity to find a different way of working, not better, not worse, but different. We’ve been required to explore more of our creativity than we have in years. That idea we had, lying in the back of our minds, may now have a place in the world, more than ever. Now is the right time.

Back to the drawing board

Now is also the time to realize that there will be a lot less money in the economy, your slice of the pie has become smaller.

So, is the service you are providing even relevant? How far in the future can it sustain itself for? It’s time for all of us to go back to the drawing board. What do we focus on in the future? Do we completely overhaul the business with a difference in focus, or do we just carry on with the product we were offering before? Can we hold on to all of the employees, or do we offer a new way of working that gives them the opportunity to choose their hours and get paid accordingly? Do we encourage them to take a second job? Do we give up the office space? How do we maintain our customer base?

I’ve worked myself into a state of anxiety having to ask all of these questions.

What now ?

I’ve had to talk myself down. I’ve had to take off my spectacles, and put on the new ones. I’ve had to change the way I feel about all of the circumstances that are out of my control, and look within, to the circumstances that I can control. I let go of fear, and replace it with calm, and acceptance. I breathe, free my mind and body… relax.

I’m starting small. With one question at a time. Not forcing anything, just allowing every idea to flow, without restriction. Some of the questions don’t have easy solutions. I accept that. At the end of the day, I will find the most creative, innovative, and practical solution for my challenges. And I accept that I can do it, involving the people around me. I choose to see all of my challenges as an opportunity.

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom – Dr Viktor Frankl