By: Kayvonna K Stigall
When a crisis occurs, it can seem normal to shut down and throw in the towel until things blow over. Take the pandemic and economic uncertainty for example. It’s an easy excuse to turn away from starting a new business and turn instead to what’s familiar – even if that thing is no longer working for you in this new season of life.
Committing to a fresh start is worth the time when you have a mindset beyond just surviving and you are intentional about seeing the opportunities that still lay ahead in order to truly thrive and live life on purpose.
But being able to spot the opportunity within a crisis can be a challenge if you’re not focused on the possibilities. Use these tips to find opportunity in the eye of a crisis so you can gain a fresh start and emerge on the other side with strength and resilience.
Acknowledge your track record for overcoming adversity When faced with a crisis, don’t bury your head in the sand. Acknowledging the crisis isn’t giving power to it. Often a crisis teaches us things about ourselves as well as the world around us. When faced with a moment of crisis, gather strength from it by exploring the lessons in it and looking at your track record for overcoming adversity. Being able to have conversations with ourselves about how we overcame adversity in the past can allow us to gain understanding and process what is happening in a healthy way. Taking a moment to acknowledge the strength we already have in us can in turn create an atmosphere for new opportunities to flourish.
CREATE A PLAN
Create a plan to deal with the crisis. Write out what worked, what didn’t, and even the emotional aspects of the crisis in order to gain knowledge for present and future growth. Taking a look at what has occurred will aid in making short and long term goals. When planning, be sure to also prioritize and organize thoughts and actions. Sometimes how things were said or done can affect the overall outcome of a situation. Planning with purpose can help make your fresh start a successful one.
BE SUPPORTED
Receiving support from others can play an important role in embracing new beginnings in a crisis. Often we have better outcomes when we have others to collaborate with. Another set of eyes to see what we may not be able to and to keep us encouraged. Author and writer Brene Brown says, “We don’t have to do all of it alone. We were never meant to”. Collaboration can be an essential part in a fresh start. No matter what the beginning of your fresh start looks like, the most important takeaway is that you did not give up. Once you acknowledge that as part of your ongoing process and decide to keep going, it can become a reminder on the journey to embrace and take full advantage of those opportunities now! not.”
x Kayvonna K. Stigall is a published author, freelance writer, and poet from River Rouge, Michigan. Follow her on Instagram @riseaboveclouds