Moments of Impact

I was stuck on a rope abseiling a waterfall in Vietnam. Water smashed down on my head. The only way to breathe was press my chin to my chest creating a small pocket of air in front of me. After several attempts to resolve the problem with the rope, the cold water was seriously sapping my energy. I know I had one more shot before my strength would fail in the cold and I'd likely drown. Just as I was about to set up my last ditch effort I caught a glimpse of one of my guides at the base of the falls. He made an unmistakable signal to the guy at the top. They were going to cut the rope. A sudden drop and then time slowed as I fell 20 metres into the pool below. I swam to shore and hauled myself up on the rocks. Shivering from cold and shock. Alive and unharmed.

Moments of Impact happen to all of us. They can be short like my waterfall experience or long like COVID has been so far. They are often unanticipated. They shake us and make us more reactive than usual. One of the keys to dealing with them well is to face them squarely. Research for my new book '(Un)Shakeable: More than resilience' highlighted the paradox of dealing with Moments of Impact well. We have to simultaneously face the brutal facts of our reality and maintain a realistic optimism. Either without the other is dangerous. Just facing the facts can be wearing and leave us feeling hopeless. Optimism is often revered. But blind optimism sets us up for the erosion of hope too.

When COVID lockdowns first started there was a tendency for people to name an arbitrary end date. "It will be over by Easter" was a common statement at the time. The problem is we can't control the time frame. When we pin our hopes to a particular outcome, it's as good as a wish. When the wish doesn't come true it erodes hope. Do that often enough and it grates on your resilience and your ability to maintain realistic optimism. It will beat you down.

New Years caution. I'm seeing the same thing happen now on the eve of 2021. People are bidding good riddance to 2020 and claiming next year will be better. There is no objective evidence of this. In the last 5 days we have seen the iconic Sydney to Hobart yacht race cancelled for the first time in its 75 year history, and NSW reenter lockdown. And on the global scene, Australia is still relatively unaffected. COVID will not celebrate New Year. We will get through it eventually, but there will also ongoing impacts for a while to come.

This New Years I would encourage you to focus on things within your control and use them as your source of celebration. Gratitude is a powerful tool. What are you grateful for? How will you 'show up' in 2021, whatever it brings? These are more reliable tools to bolster resilience and (Un)shakeability than the flimsy wish that the clock will strike 12 and all will be well.

(Un)shakeable is full of tactics to handle Moments of Impact. It will be available in Feb 2021. If you would like to preorder a signed copy www.mikehouse.com.au/shop/unshakeable-more-than-resilience