Meet Didge. As my daughter Alex tells me, this is my granddog. He’s an Australian Shepherd and a nutter. He’s excitable, engaged, curious, energetic and occasionally a little wilful.
In other words, he’s a dog.
How many of you have dogs? And how many want one? Hands up! OK, some of you prefer cats. Sorry, this is about dogs, and why even cat lovers need to be more dog.
What sort of normal do we want?
How was the first lockdown in 2020 for you? It was certainly tolerable for us with the summer weather being so good, but in 2021 it was a different story. It all got a bit… meh..
Life is going back to a sort of normal. If we don’t wish to go back to what it was, we have an opportunity for some changes. Many of us are contemplating going back to the office or factory.
Many of us want to stay at home, or at least work in a hybrid way. Personally, whilst I miss my colleagues, as I’m used to spending a lot of time on my own, I’m quite happy with that. We talk daily via Zoom or TEAMS and meet socially every few months. As a working model, its well expressed by Nancy Dixon and it works well for us.
So, it can work without the commute, having home cooked food for lunch instead of shop bought (sorry, shops), and can be less stressful as you can manage your day better. So much more time.
Too easy perhaps
But it’s also easy to stay at home almost continually. Our horizons can shrink and that does nothing for our joy for life, our creativity and opening our minds to new ideas and ways of being. It’s easy to just go with the flow, with no big highs or lows. All planned, all too predictable. Even after the shock of the pandemic, should we have so much of a predictable life?
Perhaps we are at risk of losing the joy, which is part of what makes us human. Are a few ups and downs better for us? I suspect so, within reason.
Dogs have more fun
We took my daughter Catherine’s boyfriend’s two dogs for a walk on the beach. It was cold, but the dogs didn’t care. Archie (dog, not boyfriend) ran straight into the sea, came back to share his joy, and did that often. We were happy he was happy. It was infectious. We didn’t mind the cold weather, the sandy, wet, cold dog and my sandy, wet, cold trousers.
Archie was in the moment. He was completely engaged in what he was doing, which he did with his whole heart.
Dogs live in the moment. We live in the what-might-be, often too busy thinking about what probably won’t happen. As Mark Twain said, “I’ve had a lot of worries in my life, most of which have never happened”.
Be in the moment
Some years ago, Chase Manhattan Bank (as it was) had a slogan – Be Here Now. It was to make sure people engaged fully with whoever was in front of them, free from distractions such as the telephone, interruptions etc. It was respectful but also made sure proper consideration was given to whatever the issue was. They were in the moment. They were present. As in now, not thinking about the future.
No more languishing
We started with the tools to languish and, with the benefit of lockdown, employed them. So much…meh. Predictability equals meh. Recognise that life is messy. So, whilst uncertainty is a little scary, it’s a lot more interesting.
Your business prospers because of uncertainty.
You can help your customers too by Taking away your customer’s fears. It’s good for business and goes some way to calm down your worries too.
The present is the only aspect we can influence. Our future is ahead of us and our past behind. Our happiness is in our gift. As is our success.
You owe it to your people to Be Here Now when you are talking to them. You will have a better engaged and productive team. And you owe it to yourself.
This is a simple little tale. But it can get us past languishing and into enjoying the now. And our future.
Let’s roundup
- A hybrid way of working can give you better life-work balance
- Too much time alone and too much predictability can reduce our creativity and our joy in life
- Live in the moment. Stop overthinking what might not happen
- Embrace uncertainty and reap the rewards
And, do everything with your whole heart. Be more dog!
How we can help you
We are all about helping you achieve the best life-work (not work-life) balance for you. We do what you need to keep you on the right side of the taxman, answer all your questions, and make helpful suggestions. Always recognising that your business is a tool for you, not an end in itself. We help you plan to live your best life for longer. Helping you to enjoy the journey as well as the result, and to be happy. An initial chat won’t cost you anything, so phone on 01202 520010 or email office@hixsons.co.uk