Dealing with Disruption

 

Despite our best intentions, life tends to get in the way of executing our carefully designed plans. This type of disruption might come from any direction and the impacts will likely be felt in every aspect of your life. The largest disruption we have faced over the last 2 years has been the COVID-19 pandemic.

COVID-19 has brought various and numerous fast-moving, unexpected, and long-lasting impacts for which most people were unready for. Everyone has felt an upheaval in their lives due to the health crisis and some form of anxiety that follows this disruption. Whether it be changes to business operating models, employment, even unemployment, moving, or schools closing, there is no denying you have dealt with a shift in your life. Even if you have not been directly influenced by COVID-19, the loved ones and relatives in our lives have felt the disorientation and disruption of this pandemic.

Disruptions don’t just happen to the unlucky few; they happen to everyone. If you find yourself disrupted, here are a few steps you can take to minimize the disruption in your life:

Maintain a view of your goals and if need be, adjust them.

The process of setting and achieving goals can be up and down at times, sometimes even with the best of intentions, things don’t work out as we planned. When your goals aren’t working, you can adjust. You can make changes to those goals to better fit your season now. Long term goals often stay the same as they tend to be more aligned to your mission and vision of the organisation. Medium and short-term goals are more likely to change as we want to achieve those over a shorter time frame and are more affected by current situations.

We set out to make the best goals and work hard to achieve them, in the end, we need to be intentional with how we set goals and flexible in adjusting our goals as we live our lives and the economic seasons cause fluctuations in our businesses.

Adjusting your Goals

As we go through this year and have approached new obstacles in our business and professional lives, you may have come to realize that some of your original goals just aren’t aligning with where you are at and in the way you had originally envisioned.

That doesn’t mean giving up entirely, it just means it’s time to adjust.

If you’re needing to adjust your goals, look at what you wrote down when you set your goals. Think about why you set the goal in the first place and why it isn’t working for you now. Then adjust the goal to better fit your needs and your season.

Letting Go of Goals

If you’ve tried to adjust your goal and it still doesn’t seem to fit, it might be time to let it go, even just temporarily. Letting go of goals can be hard, especially when it is something you really wanted to make happen.

It doesn’t mean you can’t re-add these to your agenda at some point, you need to decide this when the time is right.

Making New Goals

While you are working to adjust your current goals to better fit your season, new goals may come up too. There’s no rule that says we can’t set new goals in the middle of the year. In fact, I think it works better that way when you set goals based on your current season rather than trying to figure out the whole year on January 1st.

Setting goals as you go and making new goals for new seasons will help you to keep your goals aligned with your life and allow you to live more intentionally. If there is a new need in your life or gap in your goals that needs to be filled, set a new goal.

Be flexible – look for new opportunities:

Flexibility is hard, people don’t like the uncertainty of change, especially when we are faced with so much uncertainty on a day-to-day basis already! In such situations that we find ourselves in at present, stubbornly holding onto the original plan could lead to more stress rather than to lasting success and happiness.

Look outside of your comfort zone, or at least be open to, different opportunities to offset the impact that the disruption may be causing – even if it’s only temporary!

Here are a few tips to keep in mind when addressing your ability to be flexible:

⇒ Accept the cliche that the more things change, the more they stay the same. Change is a part of life!

⇒ Keep an open mind to new ideas and trying new things – don’t close off an opportunity just because its something you never envisioned yourself doing or have never done before!

⇒Don’t keep secrets. Let others know you’re looking for a change and let them support you – your new opportunity may come through channels you’re already familiar with!

Stay strong and be aware of mental health:

Staying optimistic during dark periods can be difficult and maintaining a hopeful outlook is an important part of protecting your mental health and forging a forward path. What you are dealing with may be difficult, it’s important to remain hopeful and positive about a brighter future.

Protecting your mental health will also help you take care of your physical health, recognize emotional and spiritual needs, foster and sustain strong relationships, and achieve balance in different areas of your life.

Here are five ways to be aware of and protect your mental health.

⇒ Express your feelings. Talk to someone you trust about how you are feeling or problems you may be facing. Holding these emotions in can make you feel worse.

⇒ Set boundaries. It’s ok to say “no” to activities you know you don’t like or no longer want to do. This might include not checking emails at night, not attending gatherings you don’t like, or not answering your phone at certain times of the day.

⇒ Take care of your physical health. Physical self-care is an important way to manage symptoms of mental health challenges. Eating healthfully, getting enough sleep, and exercising regularly are a few ways you can take care of your physical health.

⇒ Find a coping mechanism for you. Everyone is on a unique journey with their own challenges and coping mechanisms. Find a healthy activity that helps you cope with daily stress, such as creating art or music, journaling or connecting with loved ones.

⇒ Ask for help if you need it. It’s ok to ask for help. There are mental health professionals and services available to help you manage your symptoms.

If these aren’t helping, or if you are experiencing overwhelming feelings of anxiety or depression, consider reaching out to your primary care physician for more concentrated help.

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