Unemployment, Civil Unrest, COVID and What It Has to Do with Your Career

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I sincerely hope that you are one of the people who still has a job in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis and the unrest in our country. Whether you do or not, we are going through something epic that the majority of us have no experience with. You’d have to be 100 years old to have lived through the last pandemic. We have not seen this level of unemployment seen since the 1930’s, and current day civil unrest is reminiscent of the 60’s. Facing all of this at once? Unprecedented. There is no roadmap on how to cope with all this.

A lot of people are understandably overwhelmed and upset. Their lives have been upended, and they are dealing with the pressures of working while juggling family at home. They do not have the breaks that come from kids being in school or summer camp. The deep pain of racism is palpable. Many are furloughed and are fearful that their job may not come back. Finances are in a long hiccup, and relationships are likely feeling the strain. All of this on top of missing friends and family we are not free to see. It’s a lot.

Let’s face it. For a lot of people, this is a shit show.

What can you do?

Remain calm
While fear can sometimes be a great motivator, try to manage your stress and anxiety. You will make better decisions and handle life’s uncertainty better if you can find a way to settle your mind and nervous system. Try a free meditation app on your phone or computer. Exercise! Try tapping to work with the emotions and thoughts that arise!

Be Strategic
Is it time to put the family on a strict budget? Are you in an industry that won’t recover any time soon? If so, how can you pivot? This is a good time to keep networking, whether you need a job or not, to keep yourself in the game, and learn what’s going on in your field.

Re-examine
For many, it’s become an opportunity to rethink careers and what you want from them. Does your management style need work? Do your priorities need reshuffling? How are you integrating the recent heightened awareness of systemic racism into your life and work? What are you grappling with in any area of your life? This is the time to examine and evolve.

Pivot
If you’re one of the people that has to pivot, the sooner you mourn your loss, the faster you can get on with your next step. Whatever you do, don’t look at your resume for guidance. Next, think about what marketable skills you have (even if they are hobbies). If you’ve long been holding back on making a change, the opportunity is here. You are not looking at a blank slate right now for no reason. It’s time to gather your resources and your courage to make the leap.

Redefine Opportunity
If the job market proves difficult, it’s natural to say there are no opportunities and to feel victimized. Now more than ever, opportunity needs to become something you create. Don’t wait for it to become available the usual ways. Redefine opportunity not only as something to attain, but also see the gap as the opportunity.

The future will not be about returning to normal. The future is evolving, and we will all be doing things a bit differently.

The upside of chaos is that it shakes things up to reveal new possibilities. It’s those that embrace it and proceed with focus who will bring in the new day successfully.

Please check out www.NowWhatCoaching.com and www.LauraBermanFortgang.com for more resources

The Shifting Landscape

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After 9/11, I remember many people feeling that there was no point to their day-to-day activities. Concerns that seemed so crucial a mere week or month before the towers fell now felt meaningless. The loss of lives and the loss of our assumed safety was shattering. Within four days of 9/11, my phone and inbox were flooded with inquiries for coaching. People felt life was short and unpredictable, and they would no longer tolerate living a life that ran them into the ground with little satisfaction besides a paycheck.

The COVID-19 disruption is very different. Where life stopped for the NY Metro area after 9/11, it is now stopped in most of the country and most places in the world. It’s a global pause.

The Shifting Landscape - The Greatest Reorganization in Most of our Lifetimes

It’s been an unpredictable, unprecedented stop to almost everything. Pollution has been reduced dramatically due to the halting of manufacturing and travel in the air and on the ground. People are hunkered down with their families or have more alone time than they ever bargained for. Buildings and streets are empty to the tune of a haunting silence.

We are keenly aware of the financial halt. So many jobs lost, so many bottom lines threatened, so many people feeling scared and despair setting in. No matter how badly we crave “normal,” we are still on pause.

WE ARE STILL ON PAUSE . . .

However, going back to normal is a misnomer. How long will it be until you are comfortable being in a theater, a sporting event, an office or a school? Lifting the shelter-in-place order does not change the realities of getting infected with or unknowingly carrying this virus.

So what are we left with? The greatest reorganization in most of our lifetimes.

How do we want to live? How do we want to care?

The skies are clear. Are we OK with picking up where we left off? If things continue as they were, it is likely we have less than ten years to save the planet. Our bosses never thought working from home could serve the mission and yet, isn’t everyone learning they can do quite a lot without being face-to-face? By now we know if we want to homeschool full time (probably not!). Sure, we want our kids to be happy and engaged, but did we really need to have every available time slot taken up by enriching activities? Books, puzzles, games, together time and family meals are pretty enriching, if you ask me. Do you really want to pick up where we left off, or are you ready to make a change?

The question this time, I think, is deeper than the one that arose from the 9/11 pause. People are not jumping into hyper-drive as they did after 9/11, and more people are questioning deeply as they sit in the pause. It’s been a prompt to examine what makes a life. How do we measure it? How would you like to measure it? The threat of terrorism is no small thing, but the threat to hundreds of thousands of lives has given us time to be and to think. That “itch” you may feel might be cabin fever, or it could be boredom, but in my experience, boredom is a prompt to create meaning. It’s not that you have nothing to DO that’s bothering you. It’s more about not trusting what’s shown up. It’s actually an opportunity to redirect your energy and attention.

The coaching clients that are showing up now are less panicked than those of September 2001. Feeling at the top of your game and itching for something else? Ready to stand up for what YOU want and make it a reality? Wondering how you got where you are and wanting to press reset? These are the scenarios rising to the top of awareness that are ready to be addressed.

If they’re yours too, we should talk. The Now What?® program will help. Reach out to me or to one of our Now What?® facilitators, and let’s work together toward that tomorrow you want to create.

15 Tips for Coping with Stress When the World’s Out of Control

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By Teresa Bitner, Now What? Facilitator
Originally published in Bold Fulfilled Life Coach blog

Flooding, wildfires, and now COVID-19 – Is the world spinning out of control? If you have some anxiety and worry about the current events that’s 100% normal. You may ask, “What is the world coming to?” or “How will this impact my life?” Let me help you with coping when the world seems scary and out of control. Facts not fear.

First, if you or someone you know has been directly impacted by any of this, I acknowledge you and the impact, no matter now great or small. You are loved.

Second, it’s hard to NOT to be impacted by the news. You’re not alone. Just hearing of these natural disasters can make us feel anxious or fearful. Feeling stressed and or anxious after a stressful and or traumatic experience is common. We’re all impacted.

This distress shows up emotionally, mentally, and in our behaviors. You might not be directly affected, but the shock and news of it has impacted you. First step to coping is to acknowledge this stress.

Maybe you’re fearful, worried, sad, angry, filled with anxiety, hopeless, irritable, or even feeling depressed. I’ve heard comments from my clients like, “I’m concerned about public transportation,” “How will this affect my investments?,” “What about travel?,” “What about my family traveling to ____?,” “I’m just going to ignore this and keep on living,” “I’m afraid of …”

All 100% normal responses and parts of the process of dealing with stress.

Common signs of stress to be aware of in yourself and others

  • Difficulty concentrating
  • Making mistakes
  • Low energy
  • Overwhelm
  • Headaches
  • Stomach or digestive issues
  • Pain – aches, tense muscles
  • Sleep issues
  • Clenched jaw or teeth grinding
  • Changes in appetite
  • Mood swings

Things to be mindful of when overloaded with stress

  • Racing anxious thoughts
  • Negative only thoughts
  • Catastrophizing
  • Irritability and anger
  • Isolation and/or loneliness
  • Racing heart
  • Loss of drive
  • Withdrawing from others and activities
  • Neglecting responsibilities or procrastinating
  • Using substances to unwind or relax

15 Tips to Reduce and Cope with Stress

  1. Acknowledge your thoughts and feelings
  2. Express your feelings in a safe healthy way
  3. Maintain healthy routines
  4. Stay connected
  5. Eating healthy and drinking enough water
  6. Sleep – get enough for you
  7. Regular exercise – even a short walk
  8. Nature – get outside, especially in the sunlight
  9. Limit or remove news and social media content
  10. Journal – just write with no expectation or judgement
  11. Be mindful of how busy you are and how your schedule may increase stress
  12. Practice Gratitude
  13. Meditation or Praying
  14. Play your favorite uplifting music

Bonus Tip – Support – Find Support
Talking to a trusted person, spiritual leader, friend, family, counselor or coach.
Join a group online

Journal/Contemplation Prompts

  1. What am I feeling stressed/fearful/anxious about?
  2. Where do I feel this stress/fear/anxiety in my body?
  3. I want to feel______.
  4. What do I have control over?
  5. What is the opportunity in this stressful situation?
  6. What are three good things about today?
  7. I am grateful for ____ .

I hope this has been useful and helpful to you. My intent is that as we move into this new normal of change and chaos in the world that we can cope and thrive.

Crises Reveal The Essence of Things

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It is said that the true state of a marriage is laid bare in the face of a crisis. If it was strong, the relationship will grow stronger with the crisis. If it was already breaking, the crisis will deepen the fissures to breaking. It is the same for each of us as individuals. We are being shown what we are made of.

Crises Reveal The Essence of Things by Laura Berman FortgangThe current state of affairs among the crisis of the COVID-19 pandemic is laying bare our own essence. The novelty of our new “normal” is wearing off and reality is setting in. We are seeing the virus hit closer to home as beloved celebrities and people you know are being affected or passing away. Generally, we are scared, and what is revealed is the state of our ability to deal with the unknown and our ability to be alone with that state.

There are so many questions and things that don’t have a clear solution right now. However, I offer you a few things to think about, journal about or discuss.

1) How are you?
I’m not asking about your physical health, but rather about your state of mind. How ARE you? Are you freaking out? Are you mildly worried? Are you relatively at peace knowing that you are controlling what you can right now?

Be with that for a few minutes. What is being revealed about your essence – your baseline of how you deal with things?

2) Who are you?
How do you show up during this time? Are you a helper? A researcher? An organizer of others? A nurturer? A hunter/gatherer? (our family’s joke about the search for toilet paper and essential items). Are you an alarmist? The rebel? The activist? The one fueled by outrage? (all are just fine)

What is the crisis showing you about how you show up? For me, it’s not much different than “regular life.” I’m the driver; I make sure young people get out of bed and don’t teen-sleep the day away, make sure there’s a meal every night, and herd the screen worshipers to connect as a family every night. (How much do I love them not being able to run off to friends, jobs and activities? Sorry. Not sorry). Professionally, the driver is making you think, absorb and evolve. It’s who I am. It’s what I do.

3) Who do you want to be?
If these questions are not revealing characteristics that you’re happy with or proud of, consider who you want to be. Where can you refocus your energy to practice the qualities you want to embody as you ground yourself for whatever is awaiting us?

A dear friend and colleague of mine often speaks about her aspiration to live with grace. Whenever she’s faced with a challenge, she puts her attention on handling all of it with grace, her highest value.

We are on hold. In the absence of action, there is suspension. Like the moment when the orchestra stops playing as the conductor raises both his arms in the air indicating a pause. All goes still, but there is anticipation and preparation lingering and holding, until the sudden indication that all can move forward again in a burst of sound.

For all of us, the outcome is unknown. Will there be a depression? Will the loss of life deeply impact how we can lead our lives? Will we see or want different things when we get to resume?

We don’t know. We are still in the surrender. We will be transformed by this.

Watch how and who you are being. It’s the best preparation for what is to come.

It’s Easier than You Think

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how to have greater impact, bring more value, or reach more people Laura Berman FortgangLooking to have greater impact, bring more value, or reach more people? It doesn’t have to be hard, and it’s probably easier than you imagined.

Take a peek and see what you might want to try out this year:

12 Instant Inspirations for a More Fascinating You

When Life Offers You a Hard Right

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When I was five years old, my father was offered the opportunity to establish an office for his large American employer in Caracas, Venezuela. (It was a much healthier and wealthier place then that it is now.) I wasn’t privy to how the negotiation with my mother went down, but they decided to take the one-year assignment. It turned out to become a six year stay, and one I am forever grateful for as I’m still a Spanish speaker and a lover of exploring different cultures.

At least once in each of our adult lives, we’re likely to have to make a decision that pulls us towards an unproven opportunity and away from the comfort of established routine and relative certainty. I’ve listened to many a client weigh the fear and lack of a guaranteed outcome with the excitement and “rightness” of what’s calling.

In the last couple of years, I’ve worked with two established medical professionals who were presented with the opportunity to go in a related but new direction. One, felt deeply called to provide more holistic and integrated medical care but feared being ridiculed by the ‘establishment’ and never being able to return to traditional medicine if her leap did not work out. The other, was a very well-reputed surgeon who felt compelled to bring her talents to the world of artificial intelligence in the medical field (robotic surgery to be specific). She had no guarantee that it would be a wise career move although it sounded very plausible. Both women ultimately left the comfort of certainty to reap very positive results.

When Life Offers You a Hard RightThis brings me to my own hard right. Earlier this month, I declared a run for New Jersey State Assembly which is a part-time designation. It would be a tremendous honor to represent constituents in the everyday decisions and votes that affect their lives. Some of you may recall that I did run briefly in 2017. We’ll call that the apprenticeship. This one is fully professional and staffed by people who know how to win elections.

Although I had run before, it was not in my plans to run this time around. There were very big responsibilities keeping me in the land of certainty. However, let’s just say the Universe conspired to open the door so I would step through it. An abundance of professional support came to me without effort. As is so often the case, the “coincidences” were too great to ignore.

I intend to bring my skill set of solving intractable problems with small business owners, individuals who are career seekers, and executives to NJ state government.

What is pulling you off the known path? How can we support you to decipher what it is or to make it happen?

Join me at Kripalu at the dawn of spring for a Now What?® Retreat. Let’s get you started.

Prepare to join our next discounted round of Now What?® On Demand. Registration begins in March. This is perfect for you if you want to work on your own from the comfort of your own space.

And if you can lend your support to my hard right, it’s permissible from US residents and every dollar counts. Thank you in advance!

Even Outlandish Dreams do Come True

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Sometimes the dream is just to be in the game. And, sometimes the dream requires sacrifices – giving up on other dreams along the way (can you imagine giving up a chance to be in Lion King on Broadway??), taking odd jobs to make this one a reality. For these two, the dream was not of gold, but simply for a chance to be in the Olympics.

olympic dream Here’s how they made their dreams come true!

What dreams lie awake within you?

How the salesman and the actor came to live their crazy skeleton dream

How Might Gratitude Support You?

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By Barb Klein
Now What? Facilitator and Deputy Editor
Originally published for Inspired Possibility’s blog

At this time of year gratitude and thankfulness are everywhere. So I have been reflecting on how gratitude serves us, particularly when times are tough.

gratitude_orig

Gratitude in times of Transition

Transition and change, whether they are wanted or not, are uncomfortable and challenging. They rock our world and throw us into unfamiliar and even more uncertain than usual territory. Recently having gone through a big move, I’ve had a chance to feel this earth-shattering reality, even though I was making a change I very much wanted.

One of the things that kept me grounded throughout the ups and downs of house buying and selling was my daily gratitude practice. Why? Because at times when I was irrationally terrified, it balanced my perspective with a look at the things that were at least all right in my daily life. It offset the natural human tendency to look at what’s wrong or anticipate the next disaster that might be lurking just around the corner.

When I was filled with excitement, joy, and eager anticipation, gratitude helped me to celebrate and take that in. As much as we have a tendency to notice the “negative,” we also often seem to be conditioned to downplay or dismiss “positive” moments. The pause of appreciative reflection allows us to take in and enjoy these happy moments.

What is Gratitude?

Gratitude is about noticing things we appreciate and coming into relationship with what IS. Sometimes we can even be grateful for fear, anger, or sadness because they reveal something to me that needs to be seen – they uncover a layer of reality. Gratitude isn’t always about sunshine and rainbows! It also isn’t about jumping over sad, angry or fearful feelings to get to a place of feeling good or looking for the silver lining. But, it can help open us to see beyond what’s right in front of us that may feel all-consuming.

How Can Gratitude Support Me?

So, how might gratitude support you if you are going through a transition? If you’ve recently lost a job or a relationship, and you’re not sure what lies ahead, it might be tough to see or feel anything positive. But if you were to take a few moments each day to find even the smallest thing to appreciate, it could shift not only your view of life but how you show up in life, to your family, and to the world at large (including to people you might be interviewing with or asking for support).

Research has shown that people who practice gratitude are healthier, have more optimism and happiness, create stronger relationships, and are more generous. These sound like traits of someone I’d want to be around (or hire!) … how about you?
​
What IS a Gratitude Practice?

What’s a gratitude practice look like? Whatever you want it to! The key is to not make it a big “to do” or one more thing to add to your list of tasks to complete. Find a way to bring in gratitude that feels supportive and nourishing for you. Different things work for different people. The first step is to slow down enough to even make the inquiry and notice what am I grateful for? If you’re not in the habit of thinking this way or asking yourself that question, it may take a while to shift from your regularly programmed thinking.

Here are some ideas to get you started. Maybe upon waking you reflect on a few things you are grateful for before you even get out of bed; this is a beautiful way to start your day and can really influence how you approach whatever is before you. You might want to keep a gratitude journal and jot down things you appreciate throughout the day. Perhaps what works for you is an evening reflection before bed. It’s a soothing bedtime routine and a great counter to the all too common thought that often creeps in that says “That day was a waste.” or “Wow, what a horrible day I had!” It doesn’t matter whether you write, mentally note, or speak out loud your gratitude as long as you’ve taken some time to notice and acknowledge it.

Even on some of my most horrible days, I’ve been able to find things that I am truly, honestly grateful for – the cleansing tears that allowed my broken heart to crack open a little bit more and relieved me of having to hold it together; having a pillow to scream into and punch when my anger consumed me; loud music and a good car scream; the friend who made me laugh even when I wanted to cry or the friend who simply sat with me and let me feel what I was feeling.

Don’t know where to get started? How about appreciating having clean air to breathe, fresh running water to drink, sunshine, a roof over your head, a fresh idea, or the beauty of birdsong. Don’t force it. Begin with what feels true to you. Notice something you truly do appreciate. Then mentally reflect, write it, draw it, paint it, sing it, share it with a loved one… whatever works for you!

If you’d like some practices to support you in cultivating gratitude, you might visit Greater Good In Action, where you will find several simple meditations and exercises to get you started or to enhance an existing practice.

Have fun exploring how gratitude might support you. Please let us know what you discover!!

Texas, Florida, Turmoil and Recovery

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It’s been a raucous month in the US. So much for a lazy August enduring the dog days of summer!

There is a lot to absorb as we take in images of destruction and violence. The byproduct of tragedy, when we are an observer and not directly in its path, is usually that of introspection. We gain perspective about what’s important in life and experience a surge of our deepest felt values. We might send a donation and help as we know how. Then, we go back to our lives.

call to actionI invite you to stop a moment longer.

This is a call to action to reflect on your life to make right of what’s chaotic in your world. Where is there chaos and turmoil in your own life? Is it your family that needs attention? Your health? Your career? Your friendships/relationships? Your own attitude?

When the circumstances are out of your control, it helps to take care of what you can affect.

Peace in the home brings peace in the community. Peace in the community brings peace to the nation. Peace in the nation brings peace in the world. Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me.
(author unknown)

Take the time. Make something crooked right. Let us know if we can help.

Global Impact Comes in Many Forms

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Global ImpactInnovation and social impact doesn’t always come in a glamorous package. Jasmine Burton saw a global need that would make the difference in many lives and went after it with gusto, calling her mom to declare: “I know what I am supposed to do. I am supposed to design toilets.” Maybe toilets aren’t your thing, but are you an innovator or creative who might join with the policy makers to change the world? What need might you address?

How a Young Woman Designer Is Changing the Way the World Poops