Let's Start with Empathy

Yes, our best laid plans have been shattered. Some of these are deep disappointments. I get the cosmic joke about my choosing now to start a business that brings people together to build strong, creative culture. My missed expectations are no more plentiful than yours.

This can be a time for invention. As constraints and challenges emerge, creativity can flourish. We will find connection over video conferencing, cut through our two-dimensional realities, and inspire ourselves to share gratitude.

We can focus not on lack, but on our collective resilience. How might we bond over future possibilities, potential and fresh ideas rather than merely commiserate over our shared fears and worries?

In the words of Shawn Achor, world expert on happiness: “The key is to seek people who bring out the best in you, not the stress in you.”  In these uncertain weeks and months ahead of us, I aim to spread love and positivity. I will dig deep to find that lightness. On some particularly dark days, it may feel painfully out of reach.

I will find light in my five-year old daughter’s concentrating eyes as she draws our family together. I will find adventure in my three-year old son’s laughter as he zooms around the house, dinosaur backpack securely fastened, fire engine truck in hand. I will find comfort in the voice of an old friend with whom I haven’t connected in months.

I will build a business for tomorrow’s dawn. I will stay curious and creative, spend more time listening, learning and finding ways to be of service. Amidst the inevitable frustration, anxiety and concern we hold today, we can still unlock hidden moments of joy.

And I will remember to stop and breathe. I will discover new perspectives to expand my own. I will be in the moment, recognizing that this, too, shall pass. 

We are stronger than we think. 

Let’s start with empathy.