The Silver Lining of the Unknown
I think we can all agree that this year has had more unknowns and unpredictability than probably any other year we’ll experience in our lifetime!
The virus that brought businesses and schools to a halt in March continues to cause ripples worldwide, leaving us wondering what’s next, with no guidebook or map—just our own resourcefulness, grit, determination, and resolve.
For me, what’s helped my mindset more than anything is to rethink my approach to the unknown. Instead of fearing it, I decided to look for its silver lining. (Easier said than done, of course!)
Certainly there are monumental challenges with not knowing how the rest of the year, or next year, will play out. When it comes to coping with a pandemic, we just don’t know if the dance season will look more or less like a traditional year. As business owners, we can no longer expect to have a “typical” path forward; instead we need to pave several paths, not knowing which one we’ll need to take, or when.
But what I’ve realized is that there is FREEDOM in the way I can look forward now, a freedom I never felt before as a business owner. That’s a MAJOR silver lining!
Building a new business model this year—bringing classes online, investing in new technology, refocusing attention on our students’ new needs—has underscored for me the freedom to adapt and do things differently.
Here’s how I’ve been looking at the “unknown” through a positive lens:
- I can get creative in a limitless way, solving problems with solutions I may never have thought of pre-pandemic.
- I can get proactive with multiple plans, choosing the best one and putting the others on the shelf for future use.
- I can take control of what’s within my reach, making it easier to adapt to what’s NOT in my control.
I think what’s been most profound about this way of thinking is the weight I feel off my shoulders. Not having so much self-pressure to operate in a specific way means I’m more open to new ideas and my imagination has more room to grow.
Who knew that such a TOUGH year could also have so many POSSIBILITIES?
My hope is that as you’re reading this, you are taking stock of the lessons you’ve learned from this year and can appreciate everything you’ve done to rise above the difficulties. I hope you’ll read this and decide to reframe your mindset to the silver lining too … to see the opportunities you have to change what’s not working and improve what IS. To be curious about what COULD BE instead of deterred.
YOU have the power to make your business what you want; to serve your clientele based on a positive outlook and sheer determination. You have the power to flip the notion that the unknown is to be feared and instead use it to your advantage.
Perhaps we won’t even understand the full benefits of this approach until years from now, when we look back at this time with awe … when, in hindsight, we can admire the ways in which we persevered and came through to the other side wiser, more confident, and more innovative.
Ask yourself today, “What am I waiting for?”
Grab onto the silver lining and feel the freedom that comes with it. <3
Love, Misty
