Facing the Storms and Challenges in Our Lives

It’s been just about 1 month since Hurricane Ian left a trail of destruction in my hometown. While my family didn’t personally get as much damage as many of our friends did, we were still impacted in ways that most can’t begin to understand unless you're here.

We knew it was coming, so we prepared. But to be honest no matter the amount of preparation done, no matter how prepared you think you are in the end, sometimes it feels like it just didn’t matter. The impact, whether minor or major, is now going to be felt for many years to come; physically, mentally, and emotionally.

It’s where we live. Where we grew up. Where we are raising our families.

Getting through these past few weeks has got me thinking about how we prepare for storms – whether in the literal sense or within situations in our lives.?

It’s Time to Make Decisions

You know something is coming, whether it be big or small, what you don’t know is exactly where this is going to happen and exactly how BIG and impactful it’s going to be. You only know at this very moment you WILL be impacted. The unknown is scariest factor in all of this.

With this information what do you do? What are your next steps? What are you thinking?

First and foremost is safety. Warnings, instructions, guidance, and suggestions are given ahead of time. What you do with that information depends on you, your family, and your circumstances.

Not everyone can get up and leave. Not everyone has the ability to board up their home and stock up on essentials. Everyone’s circumstances impact what their overall decisions are going to be during this time, such as money, transportation, having pets, being a First Responder or Essential Worker, and so much more.

Then you have those who want to take a risk, they want to play the odds. They keep up to date with all the information but ultimately, they decide that they are going to hunker down and ride the storm out. In a perfect world they’ve got plenty of supplies, a generator, gas/propane, and a backup plan if things go wrong. Spoiler Alert – things rarely go as planned. Mother Nature is unpredictable, there are no guarantees as we saw with this storm. You can plan as much as you want but there’s going to be that one thing that you didn’t expect.

Finally, there are those of us who live in a state of denial, in which I am classifying myself this time around. We watched the forecasts and predictions days in advance, the ever-changing path, the models that look like they have just thrown spaghetti noodles at the wall and listening to all the expert opinions. We’ve gone through many storms before I told myself. It’ll be fine, we’ll be fine. We are safe here. The worst can’t happen to us. Little did we all know…..

Work Has its Own Challenges

Now, when I think about all of this, I’ve realized that in our careers, it’s kinda the same.

Throughout your professional career you have and will continue to face challenges and hurdles. What will they be? When is it going to happen? Is it going to impact you? If it does, how big will the impact be? While the outcome involving Mother Nature and destruction is much different, the life-altering outcome can be similar.

It all lies within that scary unknown universe that we can’t predict. We can plan as much as we want for the outcome that we think is going to happen, but know things change in an instant. We can’t be given guarantees. And as much as we can attempt to expect the unexpected, you still can’t plan for it because it’s unexpected.

How you react to all of this truly determines your career path and outcome. It’s important to know all the options laid out before you and understand how you react will impact you and others. Are you going to take the safe route? Are you going to cross your fingers and take a gamble? Or are you in complete denial that anything is happening or going on.

Some examples - Job Offers. Layoffs. Performance Reviews. Team Structure Changes. Company Buyouts. Coworker/Manager Issues. And so much more.

Everyone, every situation, and every outcome is different.

What Does All of This Mean?

Wouldn’t it be great in life if the answers were simple? The path that we should take was clearly outlined for us. We knew in an instant what that right decision was or is.

Maybe… In a perfect world. But we don’t live in a perfect world, and honestly, I wouldn’t want to. All we can do is know what’s going on around us. Know that just because in the past things worked out just fine, great even, doesn’t mean it’s going to be the same this time around.

Paying attention, understanding your surroundings, and taking action when needed is in my opinion the most impactful steps you can take whether it’s for an approaching storm such as a hurricane or a hypothetical storm within your career.

No matter what your facing it’s important to remember there are going to be choices, you are going to have to make decisions, there is going to be judgement, but in the end, everything is going to happen for a reason. And somehow, in some way, it’s all going to be ok.?