Time has become a precious commodity of late and the pace of our lives has grown ever faster. Until the past week, that is. Suddenly, in the space of a few days, we are faced with the proposition of having to curtail all activities, all the things that contribute to the fabric of our lives. Working, getting to work, getting the kids to school, going to the gym, retail therapy, socialising, playing or watching sport, nights out at the cinema or the theatre, even buying toilet roll…are all wiped out.
So, now what? Spend time worrying? Spend time watching the daily governmental updates at 5 pm to see how the government are looking to support a fragile economy and infrastructure while they advise the best possible course of action to halt the spread of Coronavirus?
Then what?
Could it be time to re-evaluate? The current dearth of activity is giving us time to evaluate where and how we are spending our most precious resource, our time. Now that there is a little more time to think we can prioritise life according to what really matters.
When faced with a rapidly changing, overwhelming situation life can appear hopeless which leads to a sense of depression and a fatalistic attitude. This then affects those around us (which means loved ones as we are all at home together at the moment). Our children are looking to us to know how to react to this crisis. So, why not inspire optimism in them by taking the time that we do not ordinarily get to put an intentional plan in place and create hope together.
Here’s a great way to start:
Switch off Netflix.
Get a large sheet of paper for every family member.
Get each family member to go off and draw/write ten things that they would like to achieve/see happen over the course of the coming year. Even cut pictures from a magazine for a more colourful effort. The ten things need to be achievable, so your five-year-old becoming prime minister, with the best will in the world, won’t happen.
Each family member now has a “vision board” to display in their bedroom/personal area and goals to work towards.
Come together again and see which of the goals are shared, ie. has any family member got the same thing as another.
Take a separate piece of paper and draw/write out the goals which have appeared more than once. This is your family vision board to be displayed in a communal area. You can hold each other to account and help each other ensure that your goals are met.
If you are a clever bunch then you could find images to represent the different things you’d like to see happen and make a display to set as the home screen on your mobile phones, tablets, desktop or laptops. Every time you go to use your device your vision will be literally before your eyes and you’ll be reminded of what is truly important to you and to other members of your family.
Having a vision is important, it’s your end goal, the thing that you would like your efforts to achieve ultimately. It’s at times like this that we start to realise how important our families are and getting our children to think positively about the future is a very worthwhile exercise.
Lastly, this gives us the opportunity to reflect on all those who are working their hardest to ensure that everyone can continue to live this life of freedom and prosperity. From politicians to health workers to the army and all other public servants, thank you, we are so grateful for your dedication to us.
At Cre8ion, we specialise in helping companies to pin down their vision, mission and values. Knowing why you do what you do helps you to market your business effectively. If you need help to evaluate your business and express your “why” we are operating, remotely, business as usual.