History points to significant events where there was chaos that preceded a calm.
D Day in our modern history refers to what happened on 6th June 1944 - the day on which the Battle of Normandy began. It was a huge effort involving months of secret preparations. Thousands of Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, and countless lives were sacrificed as hell broke loose to win their fight against the Axis powers. It was a dark time of significant unknowns.
If you asked people at the time what would be the outcome, I am sure you would have heard a familiar “I have no idea.” The world was caught in an ‘in between’ time in history. A place of overwhelming unknown, feeling stuck with little security until V Day was announced.
V Day represented the day Germany surrendered in the early afternoon of 7 May 1945. Huge headlines hit the papers as Winston Churchill officially announced the peace.
We live now in our own ‘in between.’ If we look to the circumstances and the economy for answers, we could surmise with a resounding ‘I have no idea”. It is not a time of ordinary, it is not a time of safe and many of us are feeling downcast and confused about tomorrow.
My thinking would say the importance of life right now is to live according to the future with a goal that shapes our ‘in between.’ This is represented by the strategies you put in place both personally and commercially to see your own outcome in this time. We may feel like the we are trapped in a desert feeling dry, confused and wondering. Those deserts are an ok place to visit but not to reside in. It is important that the goals shaping our ‘in between’ lead us through our personal deserts.
Here are three considerations that may help you through your ‘In Between’…
1 Stay intimately connected to what you hold most dear- For some of us this may be a faith in something larger than us, for others it may be our deeply held set of values that connect us to our goals. It may include realigning yourself with your purpose found in the thing that gets you up in the morning and causes you to stay on track. Whatever it is, I would say the kick starter in this time is don’t lose sight of your personal anchor. Before every day begins and ends, I would encourage you to keep clear sight of the people and prospects you hold most dear – your anchors!
2 Look at what you have – It would be very easy right now to get global on everything that is wrong in our lives. It’s super easy to focus on becoming politicians and economists spouting how we can fix the world. However, if we bring it all back to something we CAN do, ask yourself ‘what do you have in your hand’? Consider what you have and NOT what you don’t have! Be confident in who you are, what you bring to your relationships, your colleagues and your community and use what you have. Shift your strategic process to fit with what you have.
3 Identify somebody who will be there for you – I will put up my hand first and say we all need a friend in this time. Don’t navigate this time we are living in alone. The good part is you don’t need 20,000 online friends, you just need one real life person. If you don’t have somebody right now, invest some time in finding a person you can walk with. This might mean joining a club, going to an event or doing something that might feel uncomfortable with but it may result in a relationship that may just make all the difference. You could discover a person or group you can be honest with and open with. They will support you in your ‘in between’.
In summary, I believe the answer to navigating this ‘in between’ time is found in these three things. Staying intimately connected to what you hold most dear, looking at what you have and discovering that one friend you can be open and honest with.
This may feel like D Day but your V Day will come again. History has proven it
