Unpredictability - Mountains to Climb

We are facing new mountains of challenges that we have not faced before. Unpredictability is now our new normal. Work, how we shop, bank, eat out etc. is changing like the weather. Resources are stretched to the limit for most small businesses, individuals and families. Distractions are more intense in this time of uncertainty. Job insecurity, retirement worries, and continued cut backs make it difficult to focus. It is a process for each of us to grieve the losses, face fears of uncertainty, become comfortable with the unknown and acknowledge that we each feel helpless to some extent as we coexist with a virus that continue to infect people every day.

We have to ask ourselves some tough questions...

- Are we holding on to an activity, product, strategy, or relationship whose season has passed?

- What do we need to change as we enter this new season?

We can make the intentional choice to move forward in measured steps. Different steps than we may have originally planned on pre-COVID19, but actionable-steps nonetheless. Forward movement will keep us motivated. Focus on key activities that will help you build a strategy to get through the tough changes and new realities we are facing. Focus on top goals (yes, even if they've been revised since quarantine) – our goals were important then, and they are still just as important now, and need our attention now more than ever.

Some goals could be distracting. Make it a regular practice to define your goals. Undefined goals provide no direction. Focus on one specific goal and do it with excellence. It can be very simple – such as self care. This could include good sleep, exercise (adapted for our current realities of course), healthy eating, connecting with friends via Zoom or FaceTime, phone calls, emails, Facebook etc. Consider these specific questions.

"What relationships can I nurture and grow? What activities can I keep up with at any significant level? What am I willing to do? What am I not willing to do? Getting these questions answered will helps to set goals in line with this new reality. Keep score. Yes, literally. Track and measure on a daily/weekly basis how you are doing, this helps monitor your progress, correct where you are off course and celebrate where you see even the smallest of wins. We all need some sustainable motivation for new growth and

change!

Next week I'll be sharing "8 Tips" to best monitor your progress. This weekend, consciously and intentionally begin asking yourself the two tough questions I mentioned above.

Until then,

Dr. Jill Jay

Decision Making During COVID-19

This is a wild, strange, and uncertain time for most of us. 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 is creating a unique situation, forcing everyone into new routines and different lifestyles. My hope is that you're staying healthy, both physically and emotionally. 𝐓𝐡𝐞𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 -- with much change and uncertainty many of us are feeling anxious and stressed. So, in the midst of all that's going on, remember to take extra-good care of 𝐲𝐨𝐮, be gentle and patient with yourself, and focus on what you can control.

For many small business owners, we have been challenged daily to make multiple decisions, with limited or conflicting data. It can be fatiguing and challenging. It is important to take a pause from decision making and allow your brain to rest. The ability to make good decisions is built on past experiences, research and data. As business owners, we operate from a risk mindset. This is an approach to the world that asks: “𝐻𝑜𝑤 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑐𝑢𝑙𝑎𝑡𝑒 𝑚𝑦 𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝐼 𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑏𝑒𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑜𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑜𝑢𝑡𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒?”

This tool has proven useful in the past; should we have an earthquake, we will operate business from a different location, a fire, we will operate from a different location. We have data and experience with these. So, using our past decision-mindset to see and interpret the world is both needed and appropriate when you have adequate information about your actions and the outcomes those actions result in. For this decision mindset to produce clear and correct decisions about how to act requires accurate information about the situation. Our former decision mindset is only appropriate when we know all the possible outcomes, we know what actions we can take, and we know exactly how our actions affect our outcomes.

Without knowing all these things, making decisions based on our past mindset leads us to make the wrong decisions. We don’t know these things in relation to the 𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐯𝐢𝐫𝐮𝐬 outbreak. We do not know the long term impacts of health, safety and well-being of our communities, nor do we know the short and long term impact of our supply chains. We cannot know, as this is a new experience for us.

So in the midst of decision making 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐩𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 – remind yourself and those around you that we are truly in uncharted waters, and that decisions are best made for the small moments – day to day. And, that they will change as more data is taken in.

- Dr. Jill Jay