I woke up on the morning of the 1st of January literally in a spin! A sever viral infection hit the nerve responsible for balance in the brain leaving me in a constant state of dizziness, nausea, loss of balance and fatigue. I was hospitalised for 8 days and still recovering. Everything in my little world came to a halt. I was not able to do anything for myself! I needed someone to walk me to the bathroom, to prop my head up with pillows, to help me with everything.
I am one of those people who subscribe to the belief that everything happens for a reason. So I started to ask myself: how is this serving me? What am I learning? I felt as if the universe was telling me: we heard your manifestations for 2020, however, before you can make them a reality, there are a few values you need to first master.
Without a doubt, there were countless silver linings to that cloud. And the lessons kept coming: Letting go. Trust. Balance. Compassion.
I have been reading the work of Professor Carol Dweck on Mindsets. It became clear to me how I had taken on the “Fixed mindset” when dealing with one particular member of my staff. I would easily get frustrated with her and spent most of my time giving out detailed instructions with very little explanation of why things needed to be done in a certain way. I kept telling myself “I am the smarter one and I don’t have the time or patience to teach her what should be common sense. You either have it or you don’t!”
Of course, all this came to the surface during the past 2 weeks when I was forced to let go and completely trust that others around me will step up. And step up they did.
This particular employee came to me and very calmly asked me to explain to her why things had to be done in a certain way, and when I shifted into the “Growth Mindset” and gave my ego a bit of a break, I discovered that her capabilities far exceeded what my fixed mindset mode had boxed her in, and by simply investing a bit of time in coaching her, rather than instructing her, she was able to tap into her resourcefulness and proved to be a very valuable asset for me during this time.
It is so easy for us to fall in love with our own ideas as business owners. And when we are challenged by others, we hit back and say, “they just don’t get it”. As I have realized time and again, a healthy dose of self-awareness is the only thing that encourages us to stop, review and correct. It would be great if we could do that without having to be hit by the proverbial brick on the head. But as Tony Robbins says: when we succeed, we just celebrate, but when we fail, or go through difficulties, that is the time when we stop, ponder and re-evaluate. That is where all the learning and growth happens.
And the great news – supported by all the research – is that you can learn, grow, and reshape your brain at any age and stage in your life and career. All you need to do is make that choice and then all the effort and work that follows turns into an adventure that is part of that most amazing journey to becoming a slightly better person than you were yesterday.