Today I’m wrapping up my thoughts on leading through grief and catastrophe. Find the final practices below!
Start a gratitude journal.
During times of catastrophe, it can feel that there is very little to be grateful for. This is when you must practice gratitude the most. Keeping a gratitude journal is a great way to do this, especially because it takes the effort out of journaling — no more wondering what to write about! Each night before you go to sleep or every morning when you get up, write down 20 things you are grateful for. Doing this practice either starts or ends your day in a positive state. This state is what your actions flow from and is what keeps you happy and healthy. If you don’t like to write, try a talk-to-text option on your mobile phone. You won’t believe how much your perspective changes in just a few weeks and how that enables you to move forward. Need some help getting started? Join our Intentional Greatness® Gratitude Challenge and receive 30 days of gratitude prompts!
Delegate and elevate.
Delegating and elevating allows you to identify what tasks you 1. love and are great at, 2. like and are good at, 3. don’t like and are good at and 4. don’t like and are not good at. Dividing everything you do (both at home and at work) into these four quadrants will give you a good picture of how you spend your time and what tasks you need to delegate. The goal of the practice is to get to only doing things you either love and are great at or like and are good at. This practice is incredibly useful for any leader, but for those dealing with catastrophe it is crucial. Delegating the tasks that you do not enjoy will allow you to feel less stress and free up time to focus on moving forward and doing the things that are your highest and best use.
We leaders need to understand that self-care is not a selfish act, especially amidst a catastrophe. While it may be tempting to simply put on your CEO face and push through what’s going on, catastrophes don’t work that way. You must invest in yourself so that you can take care of others and become your whole self again. This may take a little while, so be patient with yourself. Conquering my catastrophe was a year-long process where I felt just a little bit better every day; that encouraged me to stay strong and keep going.