It’s been several months since the world first heard of coronavirus and a lot has happened since then. Throughout this period, many of us have been through a few recognizable phases. Stages of concern, alarm, denial, anxiety, living in a fog, and possibly even depression, before moving forward to acceptance. All of these states are completely normal ways of coming to comprehend and appreciate the current situation both mentally and emotionally.
Others however, have found this experience quite easy, and have moved quietly and quickly to acceptance and began getting excited about the opportunities for change in such a time. And yet some people may find themselves stuck, paralyzed by uncertainty. All of these responses to Covid 19, and in fact any major change, are completely normal and are known as Transitions. It can be quite comforting for some to know that an inability to move forward is also a completely normal, and common response, as long as people don’t remain stuck in this period for too long. So how do we explain our response to change? By understanding Transitions.
Transitions are what people go through when they are involved in major change, whether they initiate the change or it is done to them, and whether they benefit or suffer from the change. William Bridges has a wonderful model to help understand the experience of change, which is what people go through as the change occurs. Our colleague and friend Steve Zuieback has explained this beautifully. Support and help for understanding and moving through these stages can be found here.
We’ve all lived the lockdown. We’ve isolated and insulated and now, for some of us, it’s time.
There is time to be creative, time to reinvent ourselves, if needed. If you have come out the other side of this transition you are ready for a New Beginning. Build a new dream, have a new vision, get creative. Connect, collaborate, touch base with your customers and supply chains.
To reinvent ourselves we need some creative thinking, and creativity can be viewed as a muscle. We all have it in us and we just need to practice the skill of using it and strengthening it to unlock our potential. One strategy that has been immensely effective in helping people achieve this comes from, NLP (Neurolinguistic Programming) and is called the Disney Strategy for Creativity. This is just one of many, many strategies that you can use to unlock innovative thinking.
There are a lot of opportunities out there right now for individuals, companies, even whole nations with the way we work together and with our environment. Hopefully by understanding where we are at (Transitions), and having some skills to unlock our innovative thinking, we can start to position ourselves in the place of most potential.
Best wishes and good luck!
