GRATITUDE

… about how the neighbour’s garden is always greener

I was watching an online lecture about the psychological difficulties of the prolonged home-office period we are facing. Apparently humanity is divided between those who see the glass half empty and those who see it half full. So far no news. It has been so since the beginning of time. BUT! A new category of humans is starting to emerge… Those who acknowledge, that there is a glass to begin with. Thinking of all my friends, who work in the hotel and catering industries, suddenly having the carpet pulled out from under their feet, I can certainly be happy, that I can hold on to my empty glass. I’m sure they would be happy, to have the chance to fill it up for me.

So, there you go! Be happy, that you still have a job. Sure, the four walls surrounding us can be a strain. Having our lives halved by lockdown, curfews and restrictions can be a bummer. Sure, the lack of interpersonal interactions can be stressful, the absence of metacommunication is leaving us with little to no honest feedback to chew on. So?

There’s a solution focus coaching method called scaling. You take a scale from 1 to 10 and you place your topic, whatever that might be, somewhere on that scale, 10 being your personal/professional nirvana. When asking one of my peers about his scale, all he told me was: This is far from being sh*t! I have to admit, he’s right. 

Amidst big reorganisations which we all are facing, uncertainty in all markets and constantly moving targets, let’s take a chance to be grateful for what we can still contribute. Doing that, from the comfort of our own homes. 

And be grateful for all truck drivers who keep the supply chain from collapsing, the bicycle riders  delivering food to our tables between two meetings, and all those holding on from day-to-day, waiting to be able to go back to work. 

Embrace the chaos, abandon comfort and be creative in finding ways to integrate the old ways in new situations.