Take care of yourself, your family and your teams
Nassim Taleb wrote about Black Swan events in 2010. A Black Swan is an improbable event with massive consequences. We are in one right now. Every one of us is facing unknown unknowns. Our savings are impacted. We are concerned about family, friends and business as borders start to close. Many can no longer go to work. Am I well enough to survive an infection?
Leaders walk a blurry, dangerous edge between under and over reacting. The consequences of closing a border, a store or a business are huge. We are facing decisions under an overload of information and unclear guidance. There is little certainty.
Activate Centripetal Forces
There are disruptive centrifugal forces at play. Centrifugal forces pull things away from the centre. It feels uncertain, scary and threatening. Centripetal forces hold things together. They keep calm, control and connection. Now is a time to focus on the key centripetal forces that you can apply to guide yourself, your family and your team.
10 Centripetal Forces
These recommendations are aimed to maintain your physical health and immunity first, and second to support your mental and emotional wellbeing.
- Discipline your attention: sip cautiously and sparingly on information
- Maintain or reinforce your daily disciplines of self-care and growth
- Exercise every day and make sure you get out in fresh air and sunshine
- Lock down your sleep discipline: consider stretching it to 8 hours
- Eat fresh foods & eat sparingly: lose unwanted weight if you can
- Stay calm and relaxed: a daily relaxation practice has multiple benefits
- Be present and savour the moment: catch worry, focus on breath and body
- Stay connected to your family: consider co-locating while you can
- Be positive and seek out optimistic positions: don’t catastrophise
- Keep cash on hand and set yourself up for remote work
No one can predict how this will turn out. Focus on what you can control and change. Fretting over provocative media hype is futile. Stay informed but focus on respected authorities like the Centres for Disease Control (CDC) and Johns Hopkins University & Medicine.
Focus on Physical Health
Reduce inflammation, fatigue and poor health. Experts warn that that age, obesity, diabetes, smoking and chronic conditions increase risk of infection and consequences. Now is the ideal time to put in place a good daily discipline that nurtures fitness, sleep, relaxation and wellbeing. A fresh-food diet and relaxation will keep your gut bacteria healthy.
Master Anxiety (and worry)
Anxiety is a key risk. Uncertainty and risk trigger the emotion of fear. Fear will stir and stimulate futile loops of worry. It is essential to discipline your thinking. When you notice the discomfort of anxiety or loops of worry, breath out long and slow. Bring your attention forcefully to your breath, your body, and the feeling of being alive right now. As your attention learns to stay present on the unfolding moment, anxiety will dissipate.
Build Hope, Optimism and Joy
Hopelessness and depression must be countered. We may lose money, jobs and opportunities. Isolation can fragment the connections we need for emotional wellbeing. Humanity is brilliant at rapid bounce. We will find a way. Be active and practical. Do useful things like keeping your home tidy and lovely, cleaning your car, or reading a good novel. Be alert to rumination on losses and what could have been. Create a positive story with your situation. Spend time with loved ones and help each other build optimism and hope.
Know that things will eventually get better. Humanity will learn. We will come out wiser and stronger. When things are shaken up like this, it is a great time to reflect on what really matters to you. Perhaps let go of some things that no longer matter quite as much. It may be an opportunity to make a much needed change.
Bounce, grow, connect and seek flow.
Part 2 continues here.