Bonjour. In this video I want to share one simple idea that can help all of us during the current situation.
Like many I am working from home. This is not a big change for me as I have been working from home for many years. The main difference is that my wife and my three teenagers are also home during the day. This crisis is impacting all of us to varying degrees. It is a big health crisis; a huge financial crisis and it is also becoming an enormous well-being crisis for so many people.
In the mix of all this doom and gloom, Taylor who is my daughter’s boyfriend and my wife TK had a simple idea called ‘the silver lining to Covid 19’. Instead of getting caught up with all the negativity, they decided every day to focus on something positive, something nice that happened during the day. Family members have been encouraged to write down their observations on a piece of paper on the fridge with the heading ‘silver lining to Covid 19’.
For example, one of the positive themes coming out of this is the amount of time we are spending as a family: the dinners, the board games, table tennis tournaments, sitting around a fire pit. We have even started getting the children in pairs to prepare dinner which is definitely a silver lining for my wife.
Another one is the fact that our evenings and week ends are much calmer: no football games, no netball games, no dropping kids to friends or parties.
I have just finished a book called ‘The Resilience Project’ by High Van Cuylenburg. Hugh was a teacher in Melbourne who took a year out with his girlfriend to go volunteering in a small school in India. He was amazed to see that despite possessing very little, the kids at this school were very happy and grateful for what they had.
After this amazing experience, Hugh made the decision to speak to schools and others about resilience and happiness. The first thing Hugh shares in his speeches and book is gratefulness. To be happy and resilient you need to be grateful for what you have rather than resentful for what you do not have.
The silver lining paper is our way to be grateful as a family in the middle of this crisis.
This is this week Work Smarter: Live Better tip. How being grateful even when things are tough is so vitally important for our wellbeing and happiness.
A little suggestion which might also help you: I am guessing that you are probably working remotely. I’ve created a short 15mn video sharing principles on how to work smarter remotely.
In addition, if you need any help or have any questions do not hesitate to reach out to me at cyril@wslb.com.au.
With care
Cyril
