Surviving & Thriving...in Times of Uncertainty

When the fear associated with uncertainty starts to spin out of control, true leaders step up! Ian Stephens, award winning speaker, one of Australia’s top Peak Performance Coaches, and co-author of “The 7 Step Pathway to Mastery – How to get ahead and stay there” says people have a choice – stay on the sidelines and join in the feeding frenzy, or manage their mind, find the ‘opportunities’ and influence thinking.

When the going gets tough, true leaders (and self-leaders) act as a ‘circuit breaker’ by leading self and others in four key areas:

1.??Manage ‘state of mind’ and lead perceptions away from panic.

2.??Reframe the situation and get ‘opportunity focused’. All adversity screens a hidden opportunity.

3.??Set a well-formed outcome and future vision.

4.??Serve others less fortunate.

Let’s explore each:

1. Manage ‘State of Mind’ and lead perceptions away from panic

Panic stands for ‘Paranoid Action Not In Consciousness’. We are acting emotionally, driven by our sub-conscious beliefs, fears and perceptions. As US President Franklin D. Roosevelt said back in 1932, “The only thing we have to fear is fear itself”.

Those thinking rationally know that we are simply in a ‘down cycle’. They don’t buy into the ‘doom and gloom’ mentality; they control their mind, flick out the negative and stay focused on opportunities. As my wife pointed out, ‘There is realism and fatalism – don’t confuse the two’. Yes, people need to be realistic about the ‘financial season’ we are in, but don’t forget winter is followed by spring. We are not saying ‘thinking positive’ is the answer, but don’t let your psychological guard down – negativity and fatalism breeds hysteria. And remember that any situation facing us is not as important as our attitude to it.

With a ‘global financial crisis 2.0’ gripping the world on the back of COVID-19, there is negative news everywhere you turn. TV, radio, newspapers, business magazines – the bad news is relentless and it overwhelms the sub-conscious mind. You get emotionally drawn in and then become irrational. Whether the information is real, a figment of your imagination or a fantasy, the sub-conscious mind accepts it as fact. If you constantly receive negative information, via self-talk or others, and allow it to penetrate, the sub-conscious mind has no choice but to believe it, and act accordingly. You have a choice to make; let external events control you’re thinking, or step up and…

2. Re-frame the situation – find the good in the bad

Every cloud has a silver lining. I believe that and so does P. Robins in his letter to the editor (The Australian – 13/10/08) after the last GFC.

That quote is so relevant now. And we can depend on it. It’s a universal law that everything goes through cycles and growth occurs. The darkest of nights is followed by a new dawn. The achievers will be buying up stocks right now at ‘fire sale’ prices. They seize the opportunity. They recognize that you can profit from crisis. They operate to the following poem:

Fear is simply motivating them to take action, and yet for most it paralyses them into inaction. Challenge negative beliefs and look at the whole financial crisis as an opportunity in disguise. Albert Einstein said, “In the middle of every difficulty lies opportunity”. Thinking this way opens the mind’s ‘filter system’ and we start to see creative ways to capitalize on them. These opportunities are always there, but seldom accessed or acted upon. From here we should…

3. Set a well-formed outcome and future vision

Get the organization, team, department or self-mobilized by setting a well-formed outcome for the short-term future. Our focus shifts to what we pay attention to the most. Are you paying attention to the doom and gloom, or putting energy into your outcomes, targets, goals and aspirations? What we focus on dictates how we feel emotionally, so step up and create a new or re-NEW-ed focus. A sign in a Melbourne café said it all; “We create more opportunities than we find”.

Next, take some time out to get focused on the medium term. Step three years into the future and describe what you have achieved and gained. Act as if you have not only survived but thrived during the so called down-time. The sub-conscious mind can’t tell fact from fantasy. The world always makes room for someone who knows what they want.

Don’t do what most will do in a tough economic season and play small. Do the opposite. Think big, create a well-formed outcome and get active. Down times don’t last. Tough people do. The people and organizations that will not only survive this season, but thrive and grow, are those who get certain about their future. And in amongst their list of goals, they never forget to…

4. Serve others less fortunate

One of the 7 Universal Life Requirements is the need to serve and assist others. When we stop thinking just of ourselves, and show some altruism, we simply feel better about ourselves. By giving we receive.

A mental shift occurs as we realize that regardless of how grim things look for us, we remind ourself there is always someone doing it tougher. Step up and serve others in some way. Being fearful is inward thinking and it keeps the focus on your problems. It doesn’t matter if it is a family member, friend, colleague or a stranger, find someone or a cause you can assist, coach, mentor or support. The moral is simple, by serving one another we can create a little heaven here on earth, despite the uncertainty happening around us.

In this time of economic uncertainty, we must avoid being sheep-like and following the mob, open our eyes to the opportunities around us by removing the ‘panic’ mentality, look to the future and help those around us. If we change the way we look at the current situation we will find opportunities in the most unexpected places. In the words of Thomas Edison: