This too shall pass

My grandmother lived in one of the most beautiful places in Ireland: Donegal. Like the landscape, my grandmother met the day and its challenges with stoicism. Coronavirus? She’d still be sitting in her chair, listening to RTÉ Radio 1, having already prepared the dinner for noon when my grandfather, uncle and whoever else was helping on the farm that day would come in for their dinner. Global pandemic? Nothing to get upset about. As she’d say, “this too shall pass”.

Changing times

The current situation won’t last forever but it will bring about significant change. It already has. We’ve changed from a predominantly extroverted world to an introverted one. We’ve unintentionally turned down the volume – our conversations are more muted and our schools, workplaces and public spaces are largely empty except for carefully spaced apart householders out for their daily exercise.

Many more people are working from home and the whole concept of work/life balance has shifted. In some ways, we’ve more of what we were hoping for all along. We’ve more time with our families (those we share a home with at least), more time away from the office, more time to go out and exercise (admittedly, in a rather limited way and more recently not at all for anyone “cocooning”).

The exact nature and extent of the changes will vary for everyone but they’re changes nevertheless. It’s a lot to take in.

Generating hope

Who or what is your lighthouse in the storm? Photo by Trevor Cole on Unsplash.

We’re dealing with so much change in fact that it can challenge our ability to hope. We’re worried, overwhelmed and anxious. We still need it though, hope. It’s what keeps us going when times are hard. It may be subdued for a time but it comes back when we’re ready to focus on the future and its possibilities.

For many of my career change clients coaching is a way of generating hope that spurs them on to take action in a way that seemed impossible when they were tackling this challenge on their own, stuck in a job that made them miserable or simply didn’t suit who they are now compared to when they started.

How can you generate hope for yourself and those around you? It’s worth asking so that we don’t get stuck in rumination and thinking about only negative outcomes. For me, hope is in the good news stories (they’re there if you look!), more strangers saying hello from 2 metres, my cat’s blissfully unaware daytime snoozes, and pausing to enjoy beauty in the most unlikely places.

Take action (or not)

Usually my blog posts are very practical and action-oriented but if ever there was a time to press pause and take things at your own pace, it’s now. The goals we had only a few weeks ago no longer seem as important and we need time to adjust to this new normal.

So, if you want to take action and use this time to prepare for a career change, give me a shout. You can book a chat here and/or sign up to my newsletter which will keep you in the loop for upcoming online events, helpful resources, etc. I’m also working on a few ideas to change my coaching packages and offer other sources of support to better suit the financial and other circumstances that we’ve found ourselves in.

However, maybe now’s not the time and that’s fine too.

Hang in there

My grandmother always had fresh scones on the rack ready for our arrival. Our school holidays began with the smell of these warm scones – without raisins for my sister, with raisins for the rest of us – and the taste of melting butter and homemade raspberry jam.

This is a time we will never forget. We will change as individuals and as a society. However, there are some constants, not least the way we generate memories that are filled with love. And hope: a shared hope that things will get better in the not-too-distant future.

Hang in there. Make some good memories. Let yourself hope and, when you’re ready, turn that hope into action and start creating something new.