The opportunity inherent in this pandemic
/Our initial response may not have been a positive one, and the loss during this pandemic cannot be ignored or overlooked. My condolences to those who have lost loved ones, jobs, businesses, freedoms and safety nets, the list is long. My invitation here, is to focus on your Pheonix. What rises from the ashes for you, after you face these hurts, heal and release them?
The opportunity for service professionals
My article on ThriveGlobal.com, here, talks about opportunities that still exist and continue to emerge for those who can operate virtually, in professional services arenas. I'll just summarise here, and you can dive deeper into those, by visiting the article, here.
Even as you explore these, I invite you to consider this period some much-deserved down-time for yourself, so I hope you build in ways to ensure that what you choose is sustainable — in terms of your energy, natural rhythms and the type of activities you enjoy.
Training — someone out there needs to learn the expertise you have been using recently.
Consulting — you can provide the same services or production process solutions you offered, in new industries.
Hobbies — everyone’s now baking, excelling at crafts and some are selling, these days. What’s there for you?
Entrepreneurship — new ideas or those you have recently been hired for, if you have focused time, is this for you?
Collaboration — if you let go of the concept of competition, who could truly benefit from collaborating with you?
As my consulting practice focuses on mindful approaches to pricing, process, feasible schedules and social media community, I also invite you to ensure you set these boundaries before you reach out to prospects, to minimize any risk of burnout — and stick to them.
The opportunity to rediscover Self
On a personal level, this is a very unique opportunity. In a world that makes sure we’re always too busy for deep introspection, here's an opportunity to find out who you really are and — beyond the panic, beyond survival mode — what you really, deeply, want most out of this life. (I’ve summarised this section as part 2 on ThriveGlobal.com.)
Discover and honour your Individual Sovereignty
Who you really are, you'll find, is not “normal”. Who you find as you dig deeper may be a little scary — just because of how far from “normal” you are — and a lot more quirky than you may have expected. Loving that person is the pressing opportunity available now. One solid step in that direction is to honour your individual sovereignty — your unique capacity as the person best equipped to take care of — and make decisions for — yourself. We've been taught to look outside of ourselves for everything, from health to answers, so this may require a mindset shift, but this is just an invitation. If it resonates, you're welcomed to try it.
Develop your self-trust and intuition
Start making little decisions without asking for anyone else's opinion, without asking yourself what <insert anyone's name here> would do. Fully own and embrace the rewards and consequences of those decisions. Over time, it gets more empowering, and as your unique values get clearer, you'll find your decisions become more and more aligned. You'll see more of yourself in those decisions.
After a while, you'll be making decisions, clear on the rewards and the consequences, knowing they’re both worth the decision. True self-discovery, for example, sometimes comes with the loss of dear friendships (consequence), and the reward of a freedom that you can feel almost physically (reward). They’re worth it because your decisions are based on intrinsic reasons. You know why.
Rethink Self-acceptance and continuous improvement
Self-acceptance can become a daily practice, a habit, that replaces self-critique and puts self-improvement back in it’s place — an occasional activity born out of a desire to try something new, born out of exciting self-discovery. Self-improvement isn’t meant to be continuous — that leaves no room so celebrate what already is. It was not meant to be sparked by a checklist of what's wrong, or a constant focus on the future. It is meant to support on your journey of self-love. As you focus on joyfully going through life, grounded in your own values and beliefs, new experiences will spark growth organically. It will flow, rather than require all this effort and self-lashing.
Consider this — what if nothing’s wrong with you?
What may surprise you, in your journey to self-acceptance is that very little is actually “wrong with you”. Very often what you think is wrong with you are simply attributes others around you (now) cannot appreciate. That is their right, but it is your right to be completely in love with yourself, just as you are.
Foster true self-love — from idea to autopilot
If you've never been there, it takes some energy to start, but keep it going, and the momentum will carry you so it becomes easy, habit, your autopilot. It starts with being gentle with yourself. Accepting instead of judging where you are right now, allows your inner being to reveal more of why things are what they are.
Loving yourself, with all that you are right now, unlocks something, and more self-love, understanding and compassion actually begin to flow — your endorphins say Hi — so you feel it. The effort is in shifting from judging to accepting — not resignation, as in “fine, whatever” — but genuine embracing acceptance, as in “okay, I see. Thank you for sharing this!”
Note: This is not narcissism. Don’t worry. Narcissism is not true self-love. It is outwardly focused and very aware of what others think. The invitation here is true self-love and self-acceptance.
Attract uplifting community. Who’s with you?
The problem is in trying to fit in. If it doesn't fit, it doesn't fit. And that’s okay. You do fit somewhere. There are people on this planet (plural) who appreciate exactly who you are right now — in healthy, non-competitive, non-comparative, purely unconditional love.
I've honestly begun to attract people who enjoy being with me — albeit virtually or observing physical distancing protocol — simply by accepting and loving myself more. I haven't gone out looking, but healthy boundaries and a focus on love is attracting more of the same.
Plus, I saw a post on LinkedIn by Elvira V. Hopper, where she said, once she stopped kicking herself, it removed the “kick me” sign from her back. Perhaps loving yourself will simply cause a shift in how those around you treat you, and you may not need to attract anyone else. I wrote earlier on not accepting advisors who think that you need “a kick in the pants” or any kind of push, to achieve your goals. Perhaps this is the key to not attracting them at all.
I'm with you
I'm on this journey too, and I'm always discovering new areas to love and be gentle with, within myself. It's in my latest co-authored best-seller, “Voices of the 21st Century: Powerful Passionate Women Who Make a Difference”, I share more on that journey.
I hope you're inspired to really look at this time differently, and leverage it for yourself and whatever else matters most to you and yours.
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About Crystal-Marie
Crystal-Marie Sealy, MBA, is a dedicated mom, keynote speaker, two-time best-selling author and strategy consultant. As author and speaker, Crystal-Marie is focused on resilience through authenticity, self-acceptance and individual sovereignty. Her business talks are around mindful entrepreneurship through pricing, lean process, and feasible schedules for inspired creativity and focused productivity. She also delivers corporate training around client-centric social media strategy. As a strategy consultant, and president and founder of Crystal-Marie Sealy—previously Successiory (2011-2019)—Crystal-Marie's signature "Mindful Entrepreneurship for Mindful Affluence™" empowers premium service professionals to create businesses they can truly thrive in. Good-bye rate race. Hello blue ocean. Earn more. Work less. Serve better clients, better. Connect with Crystal-Marie at www.CrystalMarieSealy.com
