The first couple of weeks of this COVID-19 upheaval was very stressful with lots of worries and decisions to be made. My husband has health issues and really cannot be exposed to this virus, which meant pulling our kids out of school and him out of work about 10 days before the government made the call. This doesn’t seem like a long time but it was hard as we assessed the information available, looked at the options and made decisions on our own.

As a solo entrepreneur and consultant I woke up on the following Monday to a very different world and potentially no work. However, my clients were all in a state of shock too, and needed to act quickly to communicate, leverage digital channels and change their position. As a brand and communications specialist, I was honoured to help. At the same time, we were having conversations about the viability of the current projects we had agreed on, and how we might continue. I am thankful for their foresight, commitment and willingness to adapt that has seen all of my active projects continue.

I’m now helping clients connect with new audiences with new offerings, shifting to online delivery and navigating the technology to adapt my workshops to be delivered online. Not to mention, my husband and I are learning to home school!

All of this requires a calm and relaxed mind. While it’s true that pressure and necessity can stimulate innovation, you also need a presence of mind to think clearly and creatively. To be open and reflective, but have the ability to make decisions with speed and certainty. Dancing with ambiguity, walking alongside others and their concurrent rollercoasters of emotions, having space to think without the mind being crowded with fear and anxiety.

This does not come naturally to me. But I have found that spending time in the morning to ground myself, to meditate and pray has been vital. Each day has brought new challenges, and sometimes they’ve ‘hit me for six’ (to use an Aussie Cricket phrase). Other days, when I have dedicated the morning to this quiet time it has transformed my thoughts and approach, bringing fresh perspectives and a calm atmosphere to my interactions with people. It’s a daily process.

My work is mostly spent helping clients to uncover their purpose and their story, and find their authentic voice. I find it hard at the end of the day to reflect on my own thoughts and voice. In this quiet moment, before anyone else is up, this is what I’ve been pondering. Finding the calm, finding it again. Each day.