I felt sorry for the reporter who in the midst of the Corona news accidentally threw in an old update.

The Corona chaos had caught him out in a public way.

The other news stations would have a field day and he’d probably become a meme for this mistake.

The breaking news… Tom Hanks has Corona virus.  I’d heard it five days before.

And then I realised.  I should be the meme.

A meme of someone pushing refresh on their screen as they were desperately seeking an update.

It was fresh news from that day.

I’d fallen into the news treadmill and felt like I’d read a week’s news in an afternoon.

Which for me looked like this:

If I don’t know what’s going on in the world how can I possibly feel prepared, ready or safe?!

It’s a bit like a sugar rush…

  • Excessive consumption of chocolate

  • Momentary feeling of joy

  • Feel briefly satisfied

  • Sugar rush dies down

  • Get on the hunt for more chocolate

When we learn ways to think differently, we can interrupt our unhelpful cycles and more clearly understand what we need.

Among the rapidly unfolding Corona news updates, I needed to take a breath and buy some time to ask myself:

What is the feeling I’m looking for?
What do I need?
And how can I get it in other ways?

I wanted to feel strong.  Like I could handle what happened next and could support others around me that were trying their hardest but still in the sugar rush.

Feeling stronger within myself was never going to be fuelled by celebrity news or more Tim Tams.

It was going to be fuelled by taking action within my control:

  • My habits (writing a Top Five list of small wins each day)

  • My self-care (I never regret exercise)

  • My ability to think beyond myself and check in on other people

  • Helpful, encouraging and productive thoughts

When you’re in a spin or trying to navigate change (welcome to adult life!), it’s so easy to diss the basics.

As humans we love shiny new things and can dismiss the basics.  Even when they’re proven and tested, and we know they are good for us, they can feel boring.

At Top Five we’re not called the most refreshing take on mindset and resilience for no reason.  We bring the tried and tested science to life.  We support teams to identify unhelpful patterns, thought loops and outdated stories that could be driving fear, uncertainty and doubt.

Our online Change Mindset and Resilience Masterclasses are described as a mindset reboot for worn out teams in the depths of change (show me a team who isn’t at the moment).

We’ll share practical ideas to build a more productive and encouraging culture, and show you how to retrain and rewire your brain to thrive during change and uncertain times.

If you’re ready for change in your team book a call in my diary here and let’s talk about how we can do this together.

If you’re reading this for you, take care, watch out for those thought cycles and ask yourself what you need.

I’m pretty sure you already know what you need and I’m absolutely sure it’s not another Tom Hanks update.

For now take care and keep it simple.

Excited regards,

Clare Desira
Director, Top Five Movement

:: 2018 – 2019 INTERNATIONAL COACH OF THE YEAR FINALIST ::

Because negative thinking is boring