How to navigate these worrying times
And the power of the human spirit
Where to start?
It’s hard to fathom what has unfolded over the last few weeks, and what might emerge over the next few months.
It feels like we’re living in a movie (in fact it’s already on Netflix).
At times like these it can easy to retreat into ourselves and disconnect from others — at the very time when we need each other the most.
But thankfully there is hope.
Around the world the human spirit is rising and showing what happens when faced with adversity.
[Along with panic buying and stockpiling of toilet rolls but I’ll leave that for others to talk about. Good news doesn’t sell newspapers or generate as many clicks.]
As well as this we’re being informed, or reminded of, things that each of us can do to reframe the way we think about this seismic shift in how we live in the short-term — to ensure we look after ourselves, our loved ones and our communities.
Below I share some stories and posts that have given me some comfort through the last few days.
They say when you take something apart and put it back together, it will never be the same.
Hopefully in this case it’s for the better, despite the very real difficulties that we no doubt face in front of us.
Big love.
🎼 Connect in other ways
Music has the power to connect and heal. People across Italy have been singing from their balconies in an effort to keep up morale as the country faces the worst coronavirus outbreak outside China.
🏡 Create a cocoon
In the words of Marianne Cantwell in this thoughtful post:
“Can we maybe switch out ‘Lockdown’ to reflect what it actually means in this case? It means “take the steps to create your cocoon and stay in it” (if needed of course!). Nest. It means, gather your crew and love them through the internet rather than face to face. It means be realistic but stay open. You might not be moving around physically at that time — and I’m not for one second saying that doesn’t suck — but your head, your heart and your soul are not locked down. So don’t let them be. And can we call it what it is: physical (not social) distancing. It isn’t about isolating from human contact — it’s about isolating from physical proximity”
🏃 Move your body
Wise words from our good friend Max St John:
“Get out and get moving — particularly while many of us are working from home or just hiding behind the sofa, it’s really important to keep physically active — one of the worst things you can do for your immune system (aside from getting stressed) is sitting still. Go for walks (but don’t lick people or public seating), stretch, enjoy what little sunshine you can find.”
☀️️ Take in the healing power of fresh air and sunlight
In a recent post, Richard Hobday, an expert on health in the built environment and author of The Healing Sun suggests that we can maybe learn something from what worked for patients and medical staff in the last big pandemic:
“Put simply, medics found that severely ill flu patients nursed outdoors recovered better than those treated indoors. A combination of fresh air and sunlight seems to have prevented deaths among patients; and infections among medical staff. There is scientific support for this. Research shows that outdoor air is a natural disinfectant. Fresh air can kill the flu virus and other harmful germs. Equally, sunlight is germicidal and there is now evidence it can kill the flu virus.”
Whether or not this turns out to be true in this case, only time will tell. What we do know is that getting outdoors has been proven to boost our immunity and wellbeing as highlighted by Florence Williams in her book Nature Fix.
”Distilling what I learned, I came up with a kind of ultra simple coda: Go outside, often, sometimes in wild places. Bring friends or not. Breathe.” — Florence Williams
💪 Build resilience
Carl Richards (the guy behind the rather good Sketch Guy column) is hosting a free webinar with Reboot founder Jerry Colonna (‘the man who makes CEOs cry’) this Tuesday at 10am Mountain Time on the topic of resilience. In his words:
“My discussion with Jerry will not be a tactical call. This isn’t about your clients, this is about you. When we are the release valve for other peoples’ uncertainty, how do we function? I could think of no better person to talk to than Jerry. And not necessarily because he’ll have the answers, but because he’ll ask the good questions. This call will be real. If you are looking for certainty at this time, this call isn’t for you. We’re going to have a real exploration about how challenging it is to navigate in an environment like this.”
🙏 Practice gratitude
Friend of HSS and a regular at our events, Kathryn Sheridan has this to say after being in lockdown in Belgium — taken from her lovely post on practising self-care in tough times:
“Gratitude really helps reduce stress. Stress damages our immune system and our mental ability. So I am thankful to be able to spend this time at home and take care of myself. I am enjoying not having to go out. I feel genuine joy at being able to sort things out at home and just drink my tea. I send love to my friends and family and to the whole world. Love and gratitude kick fear’s butt every time.”
👊 Don’t struggle alone
Patrick Olszowski, Summercamp alumni and part of our current 2020 Vision cohort has started #cornoaconnections on LinkedIn as a way to support people through this period. He elaborates:
“As the Corona crisis deepens, we’re going to need each other so much more. That is why Outrageous Impact is today announcing #CoronaConnections. If you are a purpose-led business, charity, NotForProfit or BCorp that needs a burst of free help, we can help with crisis comms or customer research (particularly online). This is the time we all need to pull together and that’s why #CoronaConnections is our effort to play a small part. If we can help, just ask.”
Expect to see more amazing kindness and generosity like this in the coming months.
And please keep sharing your stories too and feel free to email hello@happystartups.co if you’re worried about how this will affect you and your business, as we’re planning on hosting some free supportive online sessions over the coming weeks.
It’s at times like this that we need to stick together.
Stay well
Laurence
The Happy Startup School
ps. And if you need a little glimmer of hope about the virus, read this.
