Are you feeling fresh or wilted?

Summer seems a distant memory, but life before Covid and not wearing a mask seems even further away. This post isn't about to be depressing before you switch off and start flicking through the numerous people who are creating videos in their cars!

I took this photo after the first lockdown. It was a lovely summers evening and gin was the order of the day. For a few hours, I forgot about the chaos going on around me (might be partly due to the gin!). Things were tough. My dad died suddenly in April, my summer wedding postponed until 2021 and the pure treacle walking that I was doing to get Strategi and the team through it all seemed very daunting and exhausting. But those few precious hours made me realise that I could do this. Why?

When we see flowers either in the garden or in a vase, they look so proud, displaying their colour for the world to see, fresh and bright. But after they've given their all, they start to wilt, the petals fall off and they eventually lose their brilliance. Sound familiar?

You see, for me, flowers demonstrate the greatest show of resilience. They survive wind, rain, sunshine and all manner of things, but eventually, they have to reset - literally. They have a quiet time in the winter and when the sun warms the earth again, they start to grow, become strong and show off how great they are.

The definition of resilience is "the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness". Quite strong words really for something that we normally think about as a gentle thing. However, this definition to me is the total crux of what makes someone resilient and someone not. It's the ability to plough on, withstand the wind and rain. Staying true to our purpose, know that difficulty is a certainty keeps expectation levels normal.

Being strong (and I make no apology about this being a positive thing) is about weathering the storm, and once that storm is over, being brilliant again.

I'm really pleased to report that those flowers became my saviour that night. They made me think that the challenges I was facing would pass. They have passed. Some have left a huge hole in my heart, some I've managed to sort out and others have given me an opportunity to re-evaluate and make changes that are better full stop, not just for me, but for those around me.

Am I still feeling wilted? Too bloody right! It's probably been the hardest I've worked in years. I'm ready for Christmas, the break from Zoom, the phone and sitting in my home watching the seasons go by through my office window. But you know what? I've got a lovely family, I'm getting married next year, lots of things to look forward to and a business full of lovely people who have worked their socks off to make Strategi a success - even winning awards.

When winters over, 2021 - watch out!

www.strategisolutions.co.uk