And now you know...

There is a question that we ask ourselves every so often, particularly when we are being reflective — “How will I do when the situation gets difficult?” Or as people who put memes together like to say, “when the going gets tough”.

Say for example a novel coronavirus has entered the human population and quickly rises to the status of a pandemic; as a result measures have been put in place to minimize transmission and reduce the deaths that come with this sort of thing. Only essential services are available, only essential travel is advised, and social distancing and isolation are recommended, and where resolution has gone from weeks to months. Health, economic wellbeing and our social fabric, all under threat.

I suppose you could characterize this as one of those times.

I am 99.5 % certain there is a list of some sort that outlines the optimal way to act (and what to do) when crisis hits, and 100% certain everyone has an opinion on this. I would also suggest that most people would say they are handling the situation fairly well — sure it would be nice to go to a restaurant or take in “a ball game” but other than that I’m on top of it. After all, we have to be the hero in our own story don’t we?

The one consideration I believe is imperative regarding our story is to honestly reflect on the situation and how we are making our way through these rough waters. Can you honestly say, with a critical eye, that you’re asking yourself how you are doing?

It is in this question you know how you will handle the situation when the going gets tough. It is by asking this question that you know you can handle the situation when the going gets tough. It’s in this reflection you will identify what you like (and what you don’t like) about how you are handling everything. It is in this tally that you will find insights into successfully adapting to the situation and ultimately progress to the time when Covid 19 is just a story shared across the dinner table.

And don’t you want your story to be colourful?

iamgpe

PS — as part of my own reflection I have found I am spending too much time waiting; waiting for the statistics on confirmed cases; waiting to see if we are flatting the curve; waiting for this to be over. Waiting is not a particularly good story, although it does allow me the opportunity to switch gears and do other things more productive, and colourful.

PPS — Dr Suess was right about the waiting place. (Oh, The Places You’ll Go!")

Say not...

truth [tro͞oTH] NOUN —

1. the quality or state of being true.

2. (the truth) that which is true or in accordance with fact or reality.

3. a fact or belief that is accepted as true.

Our smart devices are listening and trying to influence our actions based on what they hear, our on-line searches keep offering up the same ol’ perspective, and our social media feeds are influenced by the ever present “bot” — this social apparatus is gamed to keep it that way; designed to solidify our belief in our perceived truth, and by inference, position anything else as an untruth.

This isn’t a commentary on social technology or our belief systems (I’m not even sure I’m a deep enough thinker for that, and even if I am, it’s much bigger than my current blogging format), but rather a stark recognition about how much harder it is for personal grow because this this apparatus. The polarization of our perceived truth has made it harder, if not almost impossible, to understand a situation fully — and this lack of understanding never leads to anything other than the status quo, reinforces the belief that there is only one truth, and never allows for growth beyond your current circumstances.

Truth is very much like perspective; you never see the whole picture with just a single point of view. And that makes for a very small, and more often than not, misguided world.

It is important to look for the truths.

iamgpe

Um... the ball is in the air

I suppose in a literal sense it would involve some heavy equipment, a relatively large crew, planning, co-ordination and enough time to make it happen, but in a figurative sense it seems “moving the goal posts” is comparatively simpler — at least it feels that way.

Moving the goalposts (or shifting the goalposts) is a metaphor, derived from goal-based sports, that means to change the criterion (goal) of a process or competition while it is still in progress, in such a way that the new goal offers one side an intentional advantage or disadvantage. (Wikipedia)

A situation that is frustrating to be sure.

Although I will say, its cousin “Moving the goalposts while the ball is in the air” will bring the toughest to a knee (sometimes pounding the ground and uttering those icon words, “Damn you, damn you all to hell.”). In this case it’s all about chronology, the goalposts get moved after you have initiated the activity(s) to meet the goal — you kicked the ball, it’s in the air, it’s on target… and then the goal posts get moved. Incredibly frustrating for the kicker (and her team), figuratively speaking.

There is no commentary regarding how to stop this from happening — the world is a dynamic place; something it will always be. The posts will move because someone wasn’t thinking, deliberately wanted to shift the posts for their advantage, lacked an appreciation their actions would impact what you are doing, had to react to a situation outside everyone’s control, et cetera, et cetera. It’s simply a truism that the posts will move; not always, but more than you would like.

Stay aware, over communicate and validate what you are doing will still achieve your goal, and as they say, never assume. And if the ball is in the air when those goal posts move there are two options that come to mind — figure our how to kick another ball very, very quickly, or figure out where the ball will land, have a plan to pick it up, and kick it through the posts before they move on you again. And remember, even if you miss scoring, you have still progressed the ball, and that’s the most important thing,

All figuratively speaking of course.

iamgpe