Find Your Metaphorical Battle-drums: Thriving During Challenging Times

Times are challenging, and an equally important challenge to overcome is debilitating mental sets that let us overcome despair. It is time to take control of your hands and find ways to thrive in spite of the challenging times.

‘Oh, absolutely these are tough times, unprecedented…’

‘We all know, directly or indirectly who has been affected by this situation…’

‘We are living in tough times…’

Do these lines not sound familiar? Of course, they do! From online platforms, our own business emails and to personal conversations, they all have been peppered by these seemingly inevitable bits. It seems impossible to not go into this topic.

Call it an outlet to talk about this to everyone, to a collective act of empathetic exchange, or just a way to vent, these conversations about how things are so tough and difficult for everyone are everywhere. Things are indeed tough and difficult for everyone. From new woes about isolation and endless working hours encountered while working from home in exchange of older woes of daily commute and the 9-to-5 rigmarole, to new uncertainties about one’s professional and personal lives cropping up, to the question of survival, times are indeed testing us all.

But is there no other way to look at it? Is there no silver lining one can find here in these stormy clouds? Perhaps a little story, shared by Bharat J Mehra can give us a new perspective.

Out of the many elephants a king had, one was his favourite. The elephant was strong, and he had never lost a battle; the persistence was such that he never returned until he had won a battle. The elephant was obedient, skilful and the perfect fighter. He had been instrumental in winning the countless battles the king had fought. No wonder he was the most loved elephant by the king.

Time went by, and old age caught up with the elephant. Over time, the king stopped sending him to battles. Nevertheless, he still remained a part of the king’s team. The elephant’s presence had a certain gravitas and strength to it- whenever the king saw him, he felt strong, supported, happy and secure. And thus, the elephant continued to be a favourite.

One day, the elephant went to a lake to drink some water. Old age had made him lose some of the agility, and he ended being stuck in the marshes around the lake. He was slowly sinking into the terrain, struggling to get out. The townsfolk around knew he was struggling because of his agonising screams. They tried to get him out but his massive frame was difficult to move.

The news reached the king. His favourite elephant was drowning in a marsh! He reached there, and joined in the efforts to get the elephant out. It was turning out to be quite an ordeal for all.

The king had come with a huge entourage; an old retired minister was a part of it. The old minister of the king thought of an idea. He saw that the elephant was massive, and it was no use trying to pull him out this way. The minister suggested that the soldiers and the generals start playing battle-drums around the lake. He also asked them to start some of their valiant war-cries.

The people around found this a little bizarre. But soon, as he started listening to the battle drums and cries, the elephant’s behaviour changed. His defeated posture changed, and he started to make efforts to get out of the marshes. Soon, the elephant had managed to pull himself out of that sinking position. He was no longer stuck in the marsh. He himself had pulled himself out amidst the battle- drums and war-cries.

The onlookers were shocked! It was not the elephant was not strong enough. It was only the enthusiasm within that was needed, and the battle-drums and war-cries gave him that. All the elephant needed was a little sense of purpose to get himself out of that sinking situation.

Much like the elephant which got himself out of the marshes through a renewed sense of inner enthusiasm and purpose, we seem to be needing that shift in mindset.

We need to stop letting despair dominate our thinking pattern and actions. We need to play the metaphorical battle-drums for ourselves to give us the confidence to pull through these challenging times. What’s more, those battle-drums will also help the others around us get out of their despair as well. We need to modify those war-cries and celebrate whatever abundance, good health, love we have around us. We need to take ownership of our mind, attitude and not let the situation take control of how we respond to challenges around us.

Taking control of the situation can look like and not letting despair affect us can look like:

·       Not dwelling over the fact that how times are tough and actually start developing new professional skills in whichever way possible via the countless online resources now available. Or start sharing the skills we have with others via these very platforms.

·       Being the strength of others! See these challenging times as an opportunity to develop social, emotional and cognitive skills. Support your colleagues, team-members remotely by being communicative, empathetic, clear with the tasks and not letting them lose focus of the bigger picture.

·       Using this time to increasing adaptability and resilience, and getting them beyond the confines of the ‘soft skills’ section of the resume into real life. Find ways to manage your time, create healthy work-home boundaries, find the harmony between home and office. Adaptability and resilience also look like creativity- taking risks, shaking up the status quo, not being afraid of failures, moving past them quickly right to the next solutions, viewing constraints as another step towards the solution of a problem.

In other words:

• Use the uncertainty as a boost to become even more prepared.
• Use the tough times to remind yourself of the abundance you have in life, and share it in whichever ways you can.
• Use the demand to balance everything as a motivation to develop adaptability and creativity.

Remember, the battle-drums and war-cries are not to declare war, but to indicate victory over challenging times and debilitating mental-sets.