Lockdown Thoughts 2.7 - Be Kind to Yourself

We are a week into Lockdown here in New Zealand. We have had a good reminder of what Level 4 involves, and what life has been like for large portions of the world for nearly 18 months. Add to that the uncertainty on when we might come out and get back to normal.

I am not usually a fan of acronyms, but there is one floating around at the moment that describes our modern world: VUCA. It describes our modern times as Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous. These 4 words each mean something different, but they all have negative consequences on the average persons state of mind. No one likes big, sudden changes, particularly when they involve removal of liberties or new threats to our wellbeing. No one likes the future to be unclear. No one likes a situation so complex we can not see our way to solutions or answers. And no one likes big problems that are almost impossible to get your arms around. This is the state of our existence today and it causes stress.

My stresses are not the same as yours. I have had a packed day. An emergency Board Meeting; a call to the government to discuss the importance of an NZ Navy order we received today; the weekly scheduling meeting; a long video meeting with the SMT to plan our strategy day (where my WiFi and the meeting technology let us down again); plus the usual emailing and phone calling. I also have 6 other folks in the house making noise, eating up internet bandwidth and interrupting me from time to time. All-in-all it is not a barrel of laughs right now! However everyone has their own struggle. At least my mind does not have time to dwell on unhelpful things. A lack of focus or purpose in a day is equally stressful. As are family tensions, unwell bubble-mates, financial worries, anxiety about the future, missed opportunities and lost time in our precious lives. It just isn't fun, and it isn't fair.

But it is OK not to be OK. My picture today was a poster created by Google for their own staff. I liked the messaging and thought I would share. Just do what you can and stay positive. And give me or a friend a call if you want to chat. 02231 86951.

Ben Reed
Managing Director - HamiltonJet