Who moved my cheese yet again?! (Cultivating Resilience)
Who moved my cheese (yet again)?!
OR cultivating resilience in the face of ever-increasing change and uncertainty.
This Blog was originally written during the 2020-2022 Pandemic.
Twelve days before Christmas brought us not nice things but instead yet another self-isolation for our now eleven year old daughter as she tested positive for Covid – thankfully she only had mild symptoms. This was her sixth self-isolation in just over twenty-two months on top of two long lockdowns.
What was really hard on her was the mental impact of the self-isolation much more so than the 48 hours of feeling a bit unwell. She has now spent over five months on her own with only her parents for company in the past twenty-two months. She missed the end of term yet again. To use her words: “That’s when all the good stuff happens.” She also found herself yet again only able to communicate through the means of technology with her friends and family. While of course, she was grateful to have escaped the worst of the illness (recognising that is not the case for many), she was struggling to be resilient.
Early on in the pandemic (our daughter was nine at the time), I had talked to her about the book Who Moved My Cheese?*. It has become our way of identifying and labelling when our expectations have been impacted again and we have to adjust quickly to the situation by drawing on our resilience. Sounds simplistic but it has really helped. She shared the sketch below with me earlier in the year when our world had yet again been moved in the blink of an eye and I treasure it! To me, it represents the ability to recognise, reflect and respond in a constructive way to change – exercising and cultivating resilience even at a young age. Cultivating resilience is a critical skill for us all, but especially the younger generations coming through as Shaheena Janjuha-Jivraj and Naeema Pasha highlight in their book** (well worth a read!).
- Emotional control
They articulate powerfully the need for us to develop resilience as our world becomes more uncertain in so many ways.
Full disclosure – I do though find “resilience” to be one of these words that can be used very flippantly especially in a leadership and organisational setting (“You just need to be more resilient!” = subtext “Man/Woman Up”). However, I recognise and value that the core attitudes and associated behaviours underpinning resilience are critical to our wellbeing as the pace of change and the ensuing uncertainty continue to evolve (only to be heightened by a global pandemic). To develop and hone these is critical in how we choose to respond, yet again, when our Cheese has been moved!
If you’re interested in discussing further as part of a coaching conversation, I would love to hear from you. You can contact me at rebecca@wisesherpa.co.uk or via the contact page on www.wisesherpa.co.uk
*Who moved my Cheese? by Spencer Johnson
** Shaheena janjuha-Jivraj and Naeema Pasha – Future Proof Your Career – How to Lead and Succeed in a Changing World
A bit more about the author –
Rebecca Hill, founder at Wise Sherpa, is an experienced respected, trusted, sought after and award winning coach, consultant, facilitator and mentor.
Her passion is working with purpose led and impact focused leaders, professionals and organisations (including start ups and scale ups) in London and internationally in a thoughtful, collaborative and considered way guiding them to successfully realise their aspirations and achieve their goals. Rebecca’s approach is highly personalised and tailored to the needs of each client which is why clients report strong outcomes and she is considered one of the best leadership coaches and consultants.
Rebecca is also an author and speaker. She speaks on a range of issues including mid-life to later life transitions into fulfilling encores, navigating major life stages from a career perspective and women’s economic empowerment to name a few.
She holds an MSc in Coaching and Consulting from HEC Paris (in association with Said Business School, University of Oxford), as well as being a Chartered Marketer and qualified coach. She has lived and worked in several countries including France, US and Switzerland and speaks several languages. In her spare time, she also sits on a number of boards and committees.
