Are you worried about maintaining your success, keeping your job and staying on track to achieve your goals? No problem. Just do two things and you’ll be fine. First, be still. Second, keep moving. I call this the courage paradox.
Crisis and its ensnaring uncertainty can paralyze and overwhelm the best of us. If not challenged and resisted it will strip confidence, sap our strength and leave us wringing our hands in despair. However, if we courageously confront the crisis it can become the crucible that strengthens and elevates us. In my experience the best thing you can do when you feel your world is crumbling is to be still. Keep your wits. Harness your thoughts and do not let them run wild down the path of worst case and “chicken little” thinking. Think about what is true about you and your ability to rise to any challenge. You’ve done it before, you can do it again.
A few years ago I had a business deal that ended with a devastating blow to my financial wellbeing and ego. Something that was so positive and right in the beginning became an agonizing series of events that threatened and humiliated. Events began to happen that I had no control over. All I could do was respond as best I could one day at a time. I learned to be still and knew that I had to keep my mind focused on the best solutions possible. Being still for me involved choosing not to fight the situation, believing the best outcome would emerge, defining a new definite purpose, meditating and reading. Three years later, a lot has changed, but the financial crisis is resolved and life has never been better.
Keep moving! This is the second part of the courage paradox, the part that safeguards you from becoming a victim. Focus on the work and opportunities in front of you and do not stop. Discouragement, fear and the “poor me” syndrome is overcome by being productive in your current position or assignment. If you will positively and passionately pursue what you know how to do, and what you love, while being open to new opportunities, you will get your wins. You will win no matter the circumstances if you only care enough about the outcome to never quit. To keep moving during unfavorable conditions you must not fail to demonstrate commitment, be persistent, act with confidence in your abilities and take personal responsibility every day. Opportunities are set before you each day. Do you see them? Are you seizing them? Keep moving; get your wins! The time has never been better.