How can you cope with Disruption? Many people are battling to keep perspective in these challenging times of back-to-back disruptions.

It’s tough out there in the trenches. I know, because I am there too. Disruption is uncomfortable and challenging. 

  • If you are a South African right now, the number one disruption is loadshedding. No electricity for many hours every day impacting on your productivity, stress levels and overall happiness. We are literally in the dark for so many reasons
  • If you live in other parts of the world, perhaps you are dealing with extreme weather, corruption, natural disasters, severe pollution and more.
  • If you work for a large organisation, perhaps you have been promoted, moved into a new division, there’s been a restructure and you have a new boss.
  • If you are an entrepreneur or business owner, perhaps you have had to pivot your business to survive.
  • If you are human, perhaps you have just had enough and are hoping for some respite from change.

Here’s the truth

Most people need reminding that any kind of change – positive or negative, by choice or externally imposed – brings with it a cycle of grief and loss. Perhaps you need reminding too?

Change puts you in a new space you have never been in before. It’s normal to feel a lack of confidence, anger, frustration, resentment, and to even experience feelings of weakness or incompetence whether the change is by choice, by chance or by crisis. You may want to run away or stay in bed. This even applies to change by choice for all the right reasons like having children, taking a new job, moving town or even country.  Does this ring any bells for you?

How can you cope with disruption?

Regaining confidence means acknowledging your feelings, working out where you are in the Seven Stages of Adjustment to any kind of change, and avoiding paralysis by taking action. The process of ‘doing’ reminds your neuro-circuitry that ‘you can’ and stops the feelings of hopelessness and helplessness.

Take back a sense of control

How can you cope with disruption? You can take back control in these ways:

  • Acknowledge where you find yourself emotionally. Check out the Seven Stages of Adjustment to any kind of change/trauma. It will help you to deal with what you are going through better. It’s good to bear in mind that you can go backwards and forward through the stages.
  • Grab a copy of my complimentary Dancing with Disruption download. It’s a quick read of about four pages which also contains a summary of the Seven Stages of Adjustment.
  • Watch this short reminder video about the Seven Stages of Adjustment.
  • Share the video and the download with others. Discuss it with your friends and colleagues.

This knowledge is a gift from me to you with much love at this time of great flux and change. You can read more on this topic in detail in my book, Future-proof Yourself (Penguin Random House, 2021).

Read, watch, discuss, take action. Regain a sense of control so that you can move on from paralysis. Remember that doing something will make you feel a sense of ‘I can’ again. You need this right now.