Day 85 of coronavirus in France
Day 34 of enforced confinement
What’s next?
You’re following protocol.
You’ve mourned your losses.
You’ve accepted the new reality.
You’ve developed new coping mechanisms.
You’ve found a balance of staying informed and disconnecting from toxic media.
You’ve reorganized your life systems: shopping habits, time commitments, home office/school space.
You’re eating well, sleeping well, and caring for your body.
You’re staying socially connected while physically distancing.
Where do you go from here?
Build clarity from the ground up
Maslow’s research has proven that primary human needs exist in a hierarchy. It’s hard to concentrate on meeting needs on an upper level if we have unmet needs on any of the lower levels.
Make space for clarity.
Clarity comes through action but sometimes knowing which action to take isn’t obvious when life is turned upside down through major transitions.
Neuroscience teaches us that our brains cannot process every detail that crosses our field of vision. We use natural instincts and previous experience to choose what to focus on at any given moment.
Likewise, when we are looking for clarity we must create space. Space that is not encroached upon by distractions and outside pressures; space for the essentials to come into focus. Identify what truly matters.
Do one thing at a time. Eliminate distractions. Get quiet. Ask your creator to reveal his will.
When in doubt write. Pull out an old-fashioned piece of paper and begin writing out what matters most to you and the motivations behind them.
Clarity comes through action.
Take action. Experiment. Open the door see where it leads, give yourself permission to try two or three things while you’re still deciding.
Never say never, or more accurately challenge your never. If you have decided not to do something there is probably a good reason. Do you know why? Sometimes the reason for your never brings clarity to your action.
Hudson’s six core values
Ask what you’re lacking and take action toward that goal. What is the next obvious step for you?
1. Achievement: proving yourself. One who is brimming with ambition. One who has projects. One who is oriented outward. KEY WORDS: Objectives, Reaching goals, conducting projects, working, winning, playing in organized sports, having ambition, getting results and recognition, being purposive, doing, competition, concrete, competency, react, action, efficiency.
2.) Intimacy: sharing yourself. One who needs to feel like himself or be true to himself. One who expresses his emotions. One who is sensitive to the feelings of others. One who knows how to create connections with people for selfless reasons. One who is capable of opening up to others. One who is oriented inward. KEY WORDS: Loving, bonding, caring, being intimate, making relationships work, touching, feeling close, nesting, being a couple parenting, being a friend, attachment, connect, creating security,
3.) Search for meaning: integrating yourself. One who prompts introspection. One who seeks the purpose of life. Each of us is unique. One who achieves his potential. One who is the author of his life. One who is responsible for his reactions. One who becomes who he is. One who experiences the interconnection of all things. KEY WORDS: Finding wholeness, unity, integrity, peace, an inner connection to all things, spirituality, trust in the flow of life, inner wisdom, a sense of transcendence, bliss, harmony,
4.) Compassion and contribution: giving yourself. One who contributes to building a better world. One who is committed to social education. One who develops a cause in a domain: ecology, social work, the planet, humanitarian work, counseling. One who believes we are all connected. KEY WORDS: Improving, helping, feeding, reforming, leaving the world a better place, bequeathing, being generative, serving, feeding, social and environmental caring, institution building, volunteering, idealism, commitment, fixing, mission in action, intervening, doing on behalf of…
5.) Play and creativity: expressing yourself. This value is not a goal in itself, but a way of life. One who seeks pleasure. One is finds pleasure in the experience. One who blazes new trails. One who has an easiness about them. KEY WORDS: Being imaginative, intuitive, playful, spontaneous, original, expressive, humorous, artistic, celebrative, re-creative, funny, curious, childlike, and not purposeful, discovery, enthusiasm, taste, gourmandizes, savoir vivre, inner child, joyful, inventive.
6.) Personal power: claiming yourself. One who seeks self-affirmation. One who wants to become his best self. One who seeks to have an impact. One who develops his capacities. One who seeks to be a leader. If I want it I can do it. KEY WORDS: Self-esteem, confidence, identity, inner motivation, a positive sense of self, clear ego boundaries, self care, courage, force, desire, determination, resilience, model, mentor,
Raymond Pang