In these past six months we have seen massive losses that have been absolutely devastating right across the world. We have all had to dedicate ourselves to overcoming the challenges we’ve been facing in every area of our lives.
Governments worldwide have allocated more than $13 trillion to stabilise economies. They’re estimating that by 2023, this amount is expected to reach $30 trillion.
“Life doesn’t get easier or more forgiving, we get stronger and more resilient.” Steve Marabol
Now that is a massive change on a global scale which has obviously impacted small businesses as well. On average they’ve had to cut back staff by about 23%. Now these are small businesses that have got less than 20 people in them, they’re cutting back a quarter of their staff in response to the coronavirus challenges. Trying to stay afloat and reduce expenses to make it through.
However, there have been some really wonderful gifts that have come out of this tough time. I thought thismight be a great opportunity to celebrate those, and reflect on what we can be grateful for moving forward.
There are fresh starts coming in the new financial year, and it starts with examining seven things we can be grateful for now.
Urgency:
Firstly, coronavirus has brought us a sense of urgency. Especially for those of you who were settled into a comfort zone with your business, your life, your health, or family. This emergency has made us stop and think about what is most important to us. What do you need to do to make a positive outcome from this situation? A sense of urgency is a real gift we can take into the new financial year.
Resilience:
Resilience is another gift that we can take into the new financial year. This is for those who have been rolling up their sleeves and doing the hard work of building their business. By surviving these challenges, you’ve really learned something about yourself and what you’re made of. That’s true with your business as well, because your business has passed the test. That resilience will see you through.
Innovation:
The next gift we’ve been enjoying is innovation. There are very few of us who have been able to stay the same course. We’ve been finding new, better ways of doing things, and not only in response to the crisis. We have stepped up to create growth for our business out the other side of the pandemic. Innovation is a huge gift that we can really capitalise on in the next 12 months.
Vision:
Vision is another gift that we’ve been given. With all of our standards having to be looked at in a new way, we’ve been able to see everything in an entirely new perspective. This has enabled us to see things we may not have looked for before, completely new ways of doing things. This is something to celebrate, and it’s something that will empower us moving forward, setting new goals and achieving them with new capacity.
Focus:
That is going to require focus, which has been the next gift that coronavirus and all of the lockdown restrictions have given us. We can focus on what really matters, focus on setting the goals that are really going to make a difference. Sometimes when we are comfortable we can lapse into being a little lazy and letting things slide, but now we have to focus on getting over the line, and that is a blessing.
Gratitude:
Gratitude is a massive gift that we can absolutely celebrate moving forward into this new financial year. I feel it when I am looking around my community, inside my team, my family and beyond. I’m just so grateful for the tech that we have available, for the resources we can use, and for the support we can access. Remember to feel gratitude for what we have learned and what we have.
Community:
Which leads me to the last thing that has really been highlighted throughout these previous six months of global crisis. Community. Whether online, locally, globally and so on, we have been knitted together in such a strong sense of support for each other. Helping each other through, grateful for the contributions of others and their support. That is really a perfect way to move into the next financial year.
