There was a story in last weekend’s Harvard Business Review online blog stating that the discomfort you are feeling is grief. In an online meeting of several of the editors, they took a powerful few minutes to check in with each other and that is what they concluded was their shared, common experience.

Each of us individually, and perhaps collectively, have asked questions that have provoked some strong emotional responses such as fear, anxiety and worry. My good friend Steve told me he was going to the grocery store and I sent him a list of 6 or 7 items to pick up for us. He dropped off 1 package of frozen spinach. Everything else was unavailable. Yikes, should I be panicking?

It’s important that we recognize and honor those feelings and more importantly that we share those feelings and thoughts with others so that we “get them out of our bodies” which is where our feelings reside. While we want to pay attention to them, we don’t want them to overwhelm us either.

The antidote to all this, of course, is to strengthen our resilience and even begin to fight back against the fear we are experiencing. There are several actions we can take:

• Stop Sitting and Move: While we are advised to sit on our couches, I am hearing from many clients that they are structuring exercise into their day whether it be going for a run in their neighborhood or doing some planks between calls. Here’s a video of my Cross-Fit coaches. Just do it in the driveway!
• Go Beyond: Check in with your manager about what needs to be done beyond your own work. I did a presentation the other day for one of my clients that flies blimps to sporting events. Not much blimping going on these days but their manager mentioned that the team had stepped up and was helping other groups get their work done. 
• What’s Important: One of our neighbor’s college age son is living by himself as his mom has to be out of town. We’re checking in with him on a regular basis and are dropping off food, making sure he is okay. There are lots of friends and colleagues out there who need support and good ideas. See how different it feels to reach out to them.

Taking control of this situation is the best remedy for feeling overwhelmed or powerless. Find the best places for you to take charge and start fighting back!

 I’ll be doing a free 30-minute webinar this Friday at noon EDT on how to fight back against the virus and to strengthen your resilience for what might be a challenging few weeks. You can register here. Please join us!