“This problem seems to keep happening. How can we get in front of it?”
That’s the question a former manager would ask when my random grumbling changed into a steady monologue of complaining. But his question applies to much more than work.
When quarantine life started, many people thought of it as a snow day—we’d hit pause and pick up where we left off the day before. But life is more complicated than hitting a pause button. In some cases, we may not even want to pick up where we left off. So, let’s get past the snow day mindset and get in front of a new normal. In June, we’ll talk about four ways you can begin to take charge of your life in the series, No More Snow Days.
You might be thinking, I’m so overwhelmed by world events that I need more snow days, not less! But here’s the silver lining: Discomfort is a message that there’s an opportunity for a breakthrough. So, if you’re feeling a catch in your heart about something, that’s not just your news feed blowing up—it’s your instincts talking to you. The trick is to listen to that internal hit and then adjust your 3D world.
Let me tell you about my hair stylist, Toni, who taught me that facing problems on a hit and miss basis won’t get you where you want to go.
When Toni mentioned she would be out for a while last summer, I asked where she planned to take vacation.
“Nowhere!” she said wincing. “Last weekend, we were dancing at a wedding, and my foot slipped out from under me. I thought I might have just twisted my knee, but the doctor told me I aggravated an old ski injury. Now I need surgery, and recovery will take 4-6 weeks!”
Two months later, Toni groaned when I kidded her about having her feet up for a month. “I wish! Rehab followed surgery, and my husband insisted on helping me with stretches in between physical therapy sessions. Some of those exercises brought tears to my eyes, but I got back on my feet in record time!”
During lockdown, your instincts may have given you a message you’d rather dismiss, just like Toni wanted to ignore post-surgery exercise. It’s whispering uncomfortable things like, “Speak up for yourself in that meeting,” “Power down and give yourself time to process and regroup,” or “Take charge of the bias you didn’t know you had.”
But don’t let your a-ha message go to waste by putting it on a shelf, thinking you’ll come back to it later. Be like Toni and face the discomfort with persistence. Her story shows that breakthroughs don’t happen in a single lightning strike—they often occur after many consistent steps.
Here are three ways you can try the breakthrough challenge:
There may be days when you want to quit, but remember that stretching into new territory is an automatic force multiplier. Clarissa Pinkola Estes wrote: “Struggling souls catch light from other souls who are fully lit and willing to show it.” Change is possible, but it takes commitment. Don’t let a little discomfort get in your way.