Find Your Anchor

Photo by: Keith Hall

 Find Your Anchor

I recently had a client say this to me: “Cindi, as we enter winter and possibly even experience depression given everything going on, we will need support now more than ever.”   She asked for some tips and this is part of my advice for her to ponder… 

Sometimes we need to anchor to things that we can “count on.”  I often think that if I can just hold-on-to the ABSOLUTES in my life, I can definitely feel better.  (My family, my faith, my friends, yes both the sunshine and the rain… Thanksgiving, the Christmas holidays around the corner, the coming of spring.)  I can usually count on these things and I feel more secure in my life.

In your family business, we suggest anchoring to something solid. What would it look like to build on a foundation of things that are more well-defined during this season?

• Are your values defined and lived out as a company?
• Do you have a cultural covenant (agreement) on how to act and work together?
• Have you defined structures that support you and your family working and playing together?
• Is there a plan for the future of the company?
• Are we committed to finishing tasks we may have started, like our succession plan?
• Have we discussed, “What is our best course of action during this time?”

Having these questions answered may help you feel more at ease, even relaxed and give you something to depend on and trust. 

Research tells us that when things are out of whack in our life, we tend to do even less of what matters and can often get caught up in the fray or struggles around us.  However, the exact opposite behaviors can help… pulling together and really hunkering down to accomplish things that have been waiting for our attention - both are critical, especially in times like these.  Behave this way and you can move yourself and your company forward… even in tough times!

Let’s ask, “If not now, when?”   I like this quote and it speaks to me every time:

“We must all inevitably suffer from one of two pains:

either the pain of discipline or the pain of regret.”

Hoping these are encouraging thoughts… and that we can use this strange time to our advantage!