It’s been a lot, right?
The last few years have not gone according to plan! We reckon we all deserve big fat gold medals for just making it through. Disruptions, disasters, pandemics, pandemonium – if you’ve been leading a team, leading a family, or leading yourself (and we’re all leading ourselves) you’ll have certainly had moments where you’ve felt like crawling under a blanket and staying there. Perhaps you’ve adapted to the regular stream of change by being constantly on alert, ready to respond. Whatever your default is – fight or flight, it’s time to reset your survival mindset.
But how can you UNSTUCK yourself? How do you break free from a mindset that doesn’t serve you anymore? What tangible actions can you take to thrive in 2023?
“This is how you get unstuck. You reach.”
Cheryl Strayed.
Reach.For.The.Stars.
Back in July Tonia was part of the New Zealand team at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. Being surrounded by athletes giving their guts is incredibly inspiring, and their approach to competing gives us tips on how to get unstuck:
1. Put on your own oxygen mask first
It’s not selfish to take care of yourself. No one in your family, team or wider community is served if you’re not ruthlessly putting yourself first, at least for a small and regular part of every day. You can only thrive when you’re sleeping, eating and exercising really well.
2. Control what you can control
When ‘some’ things around us spiral out of control, it’s tempting to let go of ‘every’ thing. But we’re all capable of being better than that. You are directly in control of your mindset, your work ethic, your boundaries, your approach to conflict, your courage to have challenging conversations. To thrive next year, get really clear and committed to absolutely nailing the things that are in your control. You’ll get an immediate mental and emotional lift from having daily and weekly wins.
3. Build your own cheer squad
Being surrounded by people who have your back, who champion your efforts and who will pick you up when you fall is an important element of thriving. Perhaps the holiday season is a good time to reflect on who’s got your back, and who you need to bench. Maybe what you need is a powerful coach to help you have those important conversations with your team in 2023.
Reach for new adventures
In survival mode it’s imperative that we hunker down, minimise risk and avoid tricky new situations. Have you noticed how much smaller our worlds have got? Less socialising, less travel, less face to face meetings. The holidays coming up are a perfect time to seek an adventure. Getting wild in the wild is the ideal way to challenge your limits, to reconnect with the joy of exploring and then take that newly experienced high into your work and family environments. We’d love to hear about one new thing that you try over the Christmas break. Even better, send us a photo!
Reach for new knowledge
You might have heard that Sacha graduated from Harvard Business School in June. Ha! She tells everyone! All the time! The three separate trips to Boston, the hundreds of hours of reading and the relationships forged with business leaders across the globe has been transformational for her. One guaranteed way to get unstuck is to seek out new knowledge and the holidays might just give you the time you need to pick up a book, or listen to a podcast, or watch a few video clips. Sach was humbled to be asked by her class and the Harvard team to be one of two graduation speakers. We think it’s worth a watch:
