HOW TO NAVIGATE THROUGH A CRISIS
This pandemic has certainly been an adjustment for all of us. We’ve had to learn new ways of living by balancing our home life with our work life. Managing our kids school schedules while adjusting to our own. We’ve had to redesign our home spaces to work better for our needs. And we’ve been impacted by the recent Black Lives Matter protests and anti-racism movement. Most significantly, we’ve had to reflect, listen, learn and embrace change.
We sat down with our good friend and badass entrepreneur, Angeline Kung, to discuss the necessary steps to help navigate life and business through a crisis such as this. Angeline and Elaina met about 20 years ago in college and have called her family ever since. Because of her experiences, she is someone we lean on for advice. Angeline is an executive coach, a real estate developer and owns a clothing brand called OKIINO (you can learn more about Angeline’s business here). She’s a woman of all trades and is a wealth of knowledge when it comes to managing your time, money and impact on society and the world. She has a great message to share and some tips that can help you navigate through any crisis.
“There will always be a crisis - whether global, local or personal - and knowing how to navigate through a crisis is a very transferable skill. It’s all about resilience and adaptability. The key is to take this time as an opportunity. The ones that are thriving through all of this are the ones turning crisis into opportunity. To do this you need to embrace change and take risks.”
Angeline Kung
Listen to our entire conversation below.
The ME, the YOU and the WE
In any circumstance it’s important to think about the ME, the YOU and the WE in the situation. Start with the ME… this includes your mental and physical health. Once you’ve tuned into yourself you can help others around you.
The ME
There is so much uncertainty in this world and a lot of it is out of our control. However, you can control yourself and how you manage your own needs. The ME in any situation is so important especially during a crisis.
Focus On Self-Awareness And Self-Management For Your Changing Needs
It’s important to focus on what you need to survive and keep a healthy perspective and outlook in order to move forward and be able to help others. Ask yourself these questions: what do I need to take care of myself? And how do I manage my own stress and regulate my own feelings? Tune into your body and your mind. Focus on your physical and mental health. Establish what you need to move forward. Revisit these thoughts weekly, if not daily, to check in on how you’re feeling. It’s also important to be open to change and re-evaluate what you need to take care of yourself first. Determine how you can address your own needs through self-care. Then if you need support from others, communicate and give guidance to others on what you need.
Another thing you can do to take care of yourself is to establish hobbies for stress relief and finding simple joys in the present moment. Find three hobbies - one that keeps you healthy, one that keeps you creative, and one that makes you money. It’s important during a crisis to find things that ground you and re- energize you.
Redesign Your Routine
In the beginning of the stay-at-home order everyone started blending their home life with their work life. Some were used to this lifestyle while others were not. The first step to creating balance between these two worlds is to re-design your routine. Start with your morning routine and ask yourself how you want to start your day before you begin working. Will you wake up at the same time you would if you had to commute and use that time for something else, such as meditation or exercise? Will you sleep in and allow your body to rest? Will you help your kids get the wiggles out before they start their schoolwork or take time to enjoy family activities? Think about what you need to do to take care of yourself and what you need to do to take care of others. Re-structure your routine so there is a separation as you go into work mode. Create a similar evening routine to allow your mind and body to recharge and shift from work mode to self-care mode.
“You have to take care of yourself before you can take care of anyone else.”
Angeline Kung
The YOU
After you’ve taken the time to focus on your own needs you can start to help others. Who are the people in your life that you’re interacting with and how can you show up with empathy for them?
Connect And Communicate With Empathy
Take the time to communicate and connect on a human level. Ask those around you what they need from you and how you can help them? It’s important to listen and understand what their needs are because their needs may be different from your needs. Be open to redesigning your relationship with someone.
Co-Create Structure And Agreements
This is where communication is really important. Communicate with those around you and establish verbal agreements to set everyone up for success. Designate time and physical space just for you and create boundaries with the people around you. Learn about and respect other people’s boundaries and needs. Create a safe and open environment for ME time, YOU time, and WE time.
“Figuring out what your needs are and asking for those needs is really important.”
Angeline Kung
The WE
The WE in the situation is essentially the greater good and the people you can serve - your team, your customers, your community or the broader society. You are a part of the WE and it’s important to come together as a community in a time of change to help each others survive and thrive.
“I take care of ME, so that I can be here and present for YOU and together we can serve the WE”
Angeline Kung
Establish Financial Stability
Most causes of stress come from loss of income or revenue and fear of uncertainty into the future. Financial stability comes from understanding your financials - both personal and business - and building up enough reserves to give you and your company time to weather through a crisis. Evaluate and reduce expenses first, and then continue to build a solid foundation for what provides you income or revenue. Before focusing on growth and expansion, focus first on efficiency.
Embrace Change and Champion Your Vision
Some people are more fearful of change while other’s embrace it. As a business leader, check in with your vision. Ask yourself these questions: what problem am I solving? What value am I adding to society? And - most importantly - why now?
Stay Relevant and Stay Essential
First ask yourself: How have I been impacted? What are the changes in my lifestyle? What am I using and consuming more and less of? Then think about your business and your target market or customers and clients. How can you continue to build customer loyalty? Tune into your customers and analyze what they want and need.
Take Risks
There’s a difference between taking risks and being reckless. Taking calculated risks is important to be successful in any stage of your life. Gather information, listen and learn, assess the financial impacts, and then move into action. Make decisions and take risks by checking in on yourself, your values, the impact you want to have on society and your overall vision.
“Crisis can breed creativity and innovation when you take the time to check back in with your vision.”
Angeline Kung