Coaching Yourself CALM — Using the Power of the Storm

“Stability weathers the storm, resilience uses the storm.” — Paul Scanlon

Unprecedented, tumultuous, unparalleled are all adjectives we’ve heard again and again to describe the storm we are currently living in; the days of Covid19.

How are you weathering this storm?

Fight or Flight Response

During a crisis, or any disaster we encounter, our automatic physiological response to danger kicks in; you may know it as the fight or flight response. This response is embedded in us and is beneficial and necessary to keep us safe but it becomes unhealthy if we stay in it too long. It was designed for short-term use; not a way of life.

You were not intended to live on alert with this “first responder alarm” mindset for long. Staying in this reactionary state can be more dangerous to your health and well-being than the crisis itself.

Hopefully, you’ve used some of the tools I’ve shared with you in my Crisis Kit (Click here) to build mindfulness routines that calm down stress hormones and worrisome thoughts.

These tools not only help you find safety to weather the storm, but they are also foundational exercises everyone should implement in their everyday lives; crisis or no crisis.

Now that you have faced the initial impact of Covid19 and learned how to coach yourself calm, it’s time to challenge your mindset to reach another level; going beyond coaching yourself calm to building resilience.

The purpose of this blog is to encourage you to start moving past the crisis mode that has allowed you to weather the storm and to fix your eyes on how to use the storm to create a stronger more resilient life than you had prior to Covid19.

Are We Almost There Yet?

Have you ever traveled long distances with children? I used to drive cross-country all the time with my kids. Before we even got out of the driveway, my kids would ask, “Are we almost there yet?”

I feel like that’s where most of us are in this lockdown; wondering if we are almost there yet.

Currently, we don’t know how long our existing global situation will continue but I do know one thing; this gap time, while we’re waiting to “get there” is a perfect opportunity for you to use the storm for the future that is waiting for you on the other side of this crisis.

“Use this storm as a gift to create a resilient future for yourself.” — Rita Hudgens

There have been many times in history when optimistic, visionary leaders modeled and guided others to the other side of disaster.

We are certainly living in historic times and need the strength of visionary leaders. My question to you is, are you one of them?

Your paradigm matters most right now, for yourself and for those in your sphere of influence.

Failure is Not an Option

During times of crisis or disaster, people respond differently and their choices leave a lasting impact on themselves and others. There are those who will be dismal and focus on the worst of their circumstances; choosing despair and hopelessness.

But then, thank God, there are those who become legends; people who make a positive profound impact in the lives of others.

The date was April 11, 1970. NASA’s Apollo Mission 13 was slated for a lunar landing but the mission was aborted after an oxygen tank failed two days into the mission. This was obviously a devastating blow to the mission and immediately put the flight crew’s lives in grave danger. The situation looked beyond grim for them to come out of this alive.

However, to one man, Gene Krantz, failure was not an option.

Gene Krantz was an American aerospace engineer who at the time was in charge of directing the efforts of the Mission Control Team. He had but one objective — to save the lives of the crew of the Space Mission Apollo13.

Krantz had overhead two NASA directors’ conversation discussing the low survival rate of the endangered aircraft. Their words:

“This could be the worst disaster NASA has ever experienced.”

To which Krantz responded,

“With all due respect, Sir, I believe this will be our finest hour.”

Gene Krantz had a strong belief system that there were options to navigating a safe landing and bringing the crew home safely.

According to NASA chronicles, Krantz and his team controlled the three course-correction burns during the trans-Earth trajectory, as well as the power-up procedures that allowed the astronauts to land safely back to earth.

He held on to hope in the midst of disaster rather than focusing on the mission being the worst disaster NASA had ever experienced.

Your Finest Hour

What choices can you make right now to use this storm and make this your finest hour?

“It is in crisis that the strength of the human spirit is birthed.” — Rita Hudgens

The decision to choose your thoughts and mindset is always available to you; you can elect to focus on the hopelessness of a situation or choose to embrace optimism.

Using the Storm

As you reflect on this unique time in history and what your role will be, how can you use this storm to build resilience?

Know that casting a vision to have a positive outcome will directly affect your future.

To prompt you, ask yourself the following questions:

• Where is there opportunity for me to grow during this crisis?
• Who am I becoming as a result of this storm?
• What was not working prior to the storm that I want to let go of and not take into the future?
• What gifts have emerged from this dark, dismal storm?
• What are some new habits or mindsets I’ve developed?

I’m banking on the fact that you’ve learned how to be flexible to weather the storm. It’s now time to use the storm to cast a vision for the future and build resilience; this could go down in history as being your finest hour.

Make it a STRONG day,
Rita

Always remember — Nothing is Impossible

Originally published at http://www.transformuniversity.net on April 15, 2020.