Loving Monday: Bouncing Back Stronger
The unexpected can knock us for a loop. We’re ready to make a great week for ourselves, and then, Wham!… out of nowhere and before we know what happened we find ourselves reeling.
A deadline change, additional workload, a missing co-worker, technology down, office politics. The unexpected can take many forms.
How do we bounce back when we get the wind knocked out of us?
As important as it is to your busy schedule to get moving as soon as possible, to jump right back into your original plans as if nothing had happened would actually result in a bigger setback.
Your best bet is to give yourself some space. Some space simply to acknowledge that you’ve been thrown for a loop. Take a walk. Get some air. Kick the tires of your car. Express the maddening frustration of going from the gravity-defying launch of a great week to the quicksand engulfing suffocation of yet another setback.
Validating and venting the emotion will enable you to more quickly release it. Instead of squashing the feelings that are about to sabotage your week, you find a safe way to express them. (Who cares what the passing motorists think as they pass you waving your arms wildly and ranting to the air on your walk around the block.)
Take a few deep breaths as you return to your office, and you’ll be in a much stronger position to make the necessary adjustments occasioned by whatever unexpected event interrupted your morning.
You’ve got an important contribution to make this week. We need you to show up fully engaged. For your sake and ours, let’s find ways to build your repertoire of tools for bouncing back stronger.
On your side,
- Karl
