Like many of you, I have been working from my home office. Each day I try to accomplish something of significance, learn something new and improve myself in some area.
I like to do something for someone who may need some help. Yesterday I volunteered to wash my neighbor’s outside windows. We live in a villa here in Florida, so our neighbor’s door is very close.
She commented on the flowers on the lattice work outside my office window. She told me they were beautiful. I told her my secret: They’re fake. I told her I got tired of replacing them and wanted something beautiful to look out at as I worked, and the fake flowers seem to do the trick.
The next day I was gazing out at the flowers and noticed they looked different. Suddenly I knew why she liked the flowers. After two seasons, the orchids in the pot that I stuck the fake flowers in re-grew. They were a deeper purple than they were when I first bought the plant two years ago.
Here's why I was delighted. To me, it was a sign that things will get better. Amid all of what we’re facing with COVID-19 and all its pain, things will get better. They will not be the same, but maybe some things will be greater than before. We must believe that and hope for that.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF
- What good has come out of the COVID-19 experience?
- Have you seen any signs that some new systems you have put in place should stay in place, even after things are a bit more normal?
- Are you working on the new initiatives that will make a difference once you’re up and running?
- Is there anyone you could be helping right now? (It will make you feel good and you may learn something that could be helpful to your organization.)
- Go back to Question #1 and see if you can come up with a list of good things that are happening. Put it in front of you for the next month so that you don’t lose sight of what’s working.
