A coaching client of mine reached out.
She said she just volunteered to be self-quarantined.
She sneezed a few times, her throat is scratchy, and she is slightly warm to the touch. Her teenager, her millennial, and her boomer husband are socially distancing themselves from her. Whatever the source of her sniffles, no one is willing nor was she asking for them to take a chance and share her air space.
And, thankfully, she just learned that until further notice her employer is asking that the team \”work from home\”.
\”Wow!\” she exclaimed on the phone, \”I can\’t remember the last time I was this disconnected from my routine.\”
The ramifications of this pandemic are unprecedented in our time. We are systematically, professionally, and culturally grounded. Our schools are closed. Our offices are closed. As a culture, we have never experienced the ravages of contagion like this before.
My client called me because she is struggling with a decision. Should she just unplug professionally and park herself on the couch with a box of tissues and the remote…………just wait and see?
As far as excuses go, to pull back from her work obligations what better than a pandemic?
She\’s tempted to just surrender to the circumstances and the anonymity of an unstructured environment. She called me for a reality check and permission to give in.
Our current situation simply brings the choice that we all make unconsciously daily into conscious focus.
We all decide every single day to what degree and what purpose we execute our intentions. As professionals, especially sales professionals there\’s always an available rationale for cutting ourselves some slack and taking a respite.
The truth is that the cost of this pandemic cannot even be calculated at this stage. We are inside the storm. We are locked up under house arrest, hoarding toilet paper and foodstuffs. We are focused on meeting our immediate needs but, in some cases, ignoring that we are going to be recovering for some time. We can\’t feel that yet.
So, the decisions on what we do now truly come from the clarity of vision we had before this pandemic started.
In 1666, after the great fire of London, renowned architect Christopher Wren was rebuilding St Paul\’s cathedral. While overseeing the restoration, he asked three of the bricklayers what they were doing.
The first replied, \” I am earning wages.\”
The second replied, \”I am building a wall and providing for my family.\”
The third replied, \”I am building a cathedral where a man can go to meet with God.\”
i As professionals, we may have some difficulties to overcome, whether it is working from home, closed schools, sickness, finances, inconvenience, or other struggles. If we lack the motivation to stay the course with our business or social restrictions now, it could be because we lacked purpose and vision before this epidemic started. We need goals as individuals to do our part for ourselves, our families, and our world. That perspective combined with a renewed realization that we recover faster when we stand together with our best efforts is the gift that hopefully survives this current crisis.
Cathleen Mancino is a Peak Performance Sales and Leadership Coach specializing in helping clients make impactful presentations that get clients motivated to make decisions! For more information or to schedule a private session with Cathleen, visit www.theslingshotmethod.com or schedule an introduction by clicking here https://calendly.com/mybestslingshot/15min