Success in Isolation

I’m an extrovert.
​I thrive on social interaction. Almost every ounce of my energy I get from other people, to the extent that I find it incredibly exhausting being alone. 

So as you might expect, I haven’t been dealing well with this isolation thing. 

I’ve formed my ideas of success around my love of people. How many people I can connect with? learn from? influence? help?  This is my value and this is how I measure how successful I am. 

There is a lot of talk right now about how you shouldn’t feel pressured to be productive during a global pandemic. That "productivity porn” on social media is damaging, unrealistic and if all you've done is watch Netflix this week, well thats okay.

I’m here to tell you that I couldn’t disagree more.

The world is changing irreversibly and we need to change with it or we will be left behind. 

Right now, that means changing our relationship with success for the sake of our mental health. Some people will know more than others right now that life is never going to be the same. I know people who are anxiously waiting to find out exactly how much this is going to hurt. I have friends who have lost their jobs and are stranded, family who have closed the doors on businesses they poured their hearts into… their successes, their defining values, gone.

It’s heartbreaking, and so it should be but we will get through it - because there is no alternative. 

The reality here is there is going to be a tomorrow (whether you like it or not), and there is going to be a tomorrow the day after, and the day after that. The days will keep coming so we will step into them with new values, and close the book on them with new successes, day after day. 

It’s all about how we define success, the metrics and the values we attach to - Let them be authentic, practical and achievable. Let them reflect what we need

Where we valued money, let us value security
Where we valued power, let us value safety
Where we valued validation, let us value truth
Where we valued admiration, let us value love
 

Be real. Feel everything. fall in hope as sincerely as you fall into hopelessness. Welcome the darkness with the same energy that you welcome the light. If you’re able to find yourself right now, thats a success. 

So don’t get me wrong, if you spent Sunday morning sobbing into your dressing gown because you don’t know whats next, thats okay. I am proud of you, because it means you’re not in denial. Once we have accepted what we have lost, we have the power to decide what we comes next - we have the responsibility to chose whether we wait this out in our PJ’s, or whether we fight. 

And you should be fighting, because it isn’t going to get easier for a long time but the harder we fight the stronger we get.

Just like everyones struggle looks different, our fight will be different too. If your fight is to get out of bed everyday then get out of bed today. If your fight is learn a new skill, then start with the first lesson. If your fight is to keep your job then show up to work. If (like me) your fight is to stay connected, then get on the phone. 

A friend of mine said to me yesterday, that she didn't want to feel as though she had done “nothing” in isolation so she started a diary of everything she has done so far. Every book she’s read, the new recipes she’s tried and the puzzles she’s finished and I think this is so important.

If we challenge the concept of success then we can achieve a lot during this time and if you’re anything like me, the more productive you feel the more energy you have and the more you continue to make the most out of every day.  The more energy you have to get throug this. 


If you’ve read this (shout out to my family, 2 or 3 friends and a handful of workmates) then I encourage you to do the same. 


These days might not be what we asked for, but this is what we’ve been handed and we’re not getting them back - so, when life gives you lemons, or something like that.


KEEP GOING. Work, learn, create, help out - don’t give up.