Let’s face it. We are all facing new struggles in our day to day lives. Small obstacles have turned into mountains. Projects that were cruising are now finding dead ends. Creative ideas are being suffocated by stress. In these moments it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the challenges we are experiencing as we navigate uncharted territory.
Last week I was in this exact place. I was frustrated, I was sad, and over all I felt this looming sense of failure. In the blur of these days, I could only see what was going wrong for me – I was choosing to focus on the struggle.
Then this question caught my eye:
What can you do today that you could not do 8 weeks ago?
This question made me pause and reflect. What can I do today that I could not do 8 weeks ago?
8 weeks ago, I remember asking “What’s Zoom?”. 8 weeks ago, I had never enforced a Force Majeure clause. 8 weeks ago, I had never coordinated a virtual event.
In this eureka moment I rebranded my recent struggles as opportunities. I realized my frustration was really my determination. And I reminded myself that the magic always happens outside of your comfort zone.
And Voila! In my mind appeared a list of new skills I had quietly mastered over the past 8 weeks without even realizing it.
Zoom is now my go-to connection platform and I’m confidently moderating video-conference meetings. I’ve negotiated postponements and cancellations of large events which required the navigation of multiple Force Majeure clauses for venue and vendor contracts. And I’m days away from executing my first virtual event as Lead Planner.
If you are feeling overwhelmed, frustrated or feeling that looming sense of failure creeping up behind you, I challenge you to ask yourself this same question.
What can you do today that you could not do 8 weeks ago?
Laura Warren, Event Production Manager
