I saw a TikTok clip where a woman laughed hysterically reading from her journal. I hit the sound up button and immediately understood what was so funny. Her 2020 was supposed to be filled with non-stop travel, more money, and a bigger circle of friends. I thought, Girrrl, I feel you!
Does it seem like someone swung a wrecking ball through your perfect Master Plan? This year could have felt like Murphy’s Law, which states, “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” In 2020, we’ve all received a visit—big or small, one time or many—from Mr. Murphy!
Unwanted surprises can be hard to take, but your story doesn’t have to end there. Let me tell you how a colleague courageously sent Mr. Murphy packing.
“So, tell me everything!” I said to Ming. He had been practicing for his presentation to the VP for weeks. “Did she love your ideas?”
“Yes—in the end, everything went well, but getting there was a nightmare,” he sighed. “First, our demo kept crashing, so we scrambled to fix the bugs. What should have been an hour’s worth of work took the whole weekend! Second, a teammate talked me through jerry-rigging another machine since I didn’t have enough memory to run my presentation, plus the demo. Third, I crossed my fingers that my wi-fi would hold during the big windstorm.”
He continued, “After the meeting, my manager called, and I immediately launched into the backstory about everything that had gone wrong. She said, ‘I hear you, but forget all that. No one saw the trouble—our VP thought you were flawless! Great job powering past all the problems.’”
2020 has been a peak example of trying to live your best life during crazy times. Have you felt like Ming, where you’ve had to pull on every soft skill you know to overcome constant challenges? You might be thinking, Murphy’s Law has visited over and over again—does anyone see how hard I’ve worked this year?! You know who sees? You! And there’s a big payoff for all the times you took the uncomfortable step of digging deep in the face of adversity.
You’ve left behind the magical thinking that everything in life should be easy. You’ve upleveled your maturity. And you’ve honed resiliency by combining the courageous capacity to keep going with soft skills. This year may have felt like a bust, but you’ve made some serious progress!
The next time adversity strikes, remember to turn to soft skills to solve hard problems. Try putting each of the core soft skills—adaptability, creativity, discernment, empathy, or healthy self-esteem—into action by finishing the sentence, “When adversity strikes, I ___. For instance:
* When adversity strikes, I stop clenching and go with the flow. I’m adaptable!
* When adversity strikes, I turn to my natural creativity. Every problem has a solution.
* When adversity strikes, I make smart choices about whether to push forward or hold up.
* When adversity strikes, I’m kind to myself and know when it’s time for a break.
* When adversity strikes, I validate myself for being courageous and persistent.
The November series, Make Courage Personal, has looked at four ways you can combine the lessons you’ve learned this year with soft skills to create a new definition of courage that is lasting and made just for you. At the beginning of the series, we touched on the movie “The Untouchables.” Throughout the picture, one of the Untouchables challenges Elliott Ness with a single question, “What are you prepared to do?” That question applies to being courageous. Noticing a problem is only step one. The magic happens when you are brave enough to take charge and do something about it.
Here’s a recap of what we’ve learned this month:
In the past, you may have thought courage was meant for action movies and superheroes, or someone bigger or stronger than you. But 2020 has brought a new kind of courage—one that includes soft skills and is oh, so personal. So, don’t let hard times be the boss of you. Step up and act like the creative, wise CEO of your life—a Soul Boss—when life asks you, “What are you prepared to do?”