Survive or thrive in '25?
... which are you choosing?
Let’s talk about vitality and capacity – that’s what’s underneath this whole ‘survive in ‘25’ scarcity rhetoric.
This month is turning out to be quite the gift in the stressful, unsettling department isn’t it? You might think I’m talking about the news from across the pond (political and fire related), or perhaps the high profile murder cases, or perhaps Sir Stuart Rose’s ridiculous statements about productivity and working from home, or any of the many things, but no. Well, yes. But not specifically, although I’ll be coming back to the potentially hefty reality of the effects on our capacity and vitality.
No, I’m talking about Microsoft’s new neurodivergence test, sitting in the margin of every word document. Yesterday I couldn’t get it to go away.
It shut me down
I could not compose any thought of any sort
Today I’m coworking down at Stroud Brewery and it turns out I am not alone! The copilot squiggle will neatly divide between lovers and total executive function losers. [To get rid of it, go File --> Options --> copilot and untick ‘enable copilot’]. And it isn’t in the news, possibly because the American Techerati have deemed it a great idea. It probably is – I enjoy and appreciate a rummage in the ChatGPT collective brain as much as the next creative, but the lack of choice and consent of copilot is brutal. Is it wrong to hope the NHS will cotton onto it as the neurodivergence triage method to shorten the interminable process to get onto the waiting lists?
How is your capacity at the moment?
Aside from all the news and the Twitter style reactions to the news on all the social media platforms, there may be difficult things going on in your life. For instance, one of my cats has gone into a terminal decline. It wasn’t on my rough plans for 2025, but it’s the flip side of having these characters in our lives isn’t it?
For the last week I have been coming to terms with it and making sure that his last days are good for him. But it also involves waking up in the night to check up on him and looking at him every morning wondering if today is the day when I need to call the vet. We have been doing intensive wood burner and sofa therapy, last night with added BBC Winterwatch. He really enjoyed the footage of the kestrels, short eared owls, voles and wood mice.
His palliative care has thrown a focus on the high value of the smallest aspects of my days. What would we be without noticing and appreciating a patch of sunlight on the sofa, then choosing to sit in it for a few minutes, for instance? Or stepping into the garden and watching the old boy check up on the local cat news via pee mail, and noticing the birds, feeling the quality of the air and breathing with intention for a few minutes.
The other thing I am noticing is how this stress is shrinking my capacity, and the effects of it are differing by level of: me; project; and business (i.e. individual, project & organisation). I often talk about these three vitality triangles stacked up and how there might be different weaker corners of purpose, capacity & connection at the differing levels, but when one corner is weak on all three levels, everything becomes more challenging.
I guess my major concern in January '25 is just how many of us are having our capacity quietly and concurrently whittled away on all three levels.
'The Vitality Triangle', devised by Alison Randle MSc works on 3 levels: individual, project & organisation
Over coffee, my coworking buddies and I have been talking about the prevailing messaging about 2025 being a year to survive, and how hard it is financially for so many people at the moment. And then we have this onslaught of ‘End of the World’ rhetoric from highly excitable journalists deployed to the west (fire) and east (ice) coasts of America - the dawn of a new American Presidency so alarming that a (female) Bishop felt moved to put a Christian word in for the meekest in American Society. Plus the other hot spots of death, loss and destruction around the world, some being reported and others not so much. It’s a lot. And it’s there in the posts on LinkedIn, people clearly being affected, and it is affecting their work. And then someone will reprieve the scarcity story, and on the negativity goes, dripping on us persistently.
And yet, is it true? Have you checked out the price of a stadium music ticket recently? They rapidly sell out. And apparently in Stroud last Saturday lunchtime, finding a table for food was nigh impossible. I know it’s becoming a destination place, but it’s January 2025, both the month after Christmas and according to the media, a time in our lives when nobody has any money and belts must be tightened to make the pips squeak. Philosophically and mathematically things are not quite adding up…
So I ask the question, in 2025 are you choosing to survive or thrive?
It’s all about the art of the possible. It’s always about the art of the possible.
Q: When there are external things shrinking your capacity and affecting your vitality, what can you do?
A: Look to the other two corners of the triangle: purpose and connection.
Why do you do what you do? Who do you help? Lean in to this a little with me now… Picture the shiny happy face of someone you helped, remember what they were doing and saying and what that sense of fulfilment felt like. What are the qualities and characteristics of those feels? Where are the feels in your body? What are you doing in your body, especially with your chest, shoulders, hands and breathing? What else do you notice? Spend a little time there to help you connect with your purpose and re-establish meaning in what you do.
If you want to up the connections, find some nature to gawp at, either through a window or look at the usually invisible pot plant. Even better, go for a walk. Consider your philosophical approach to life – what bigger faith and beliefs do you connect to? You could also call a friend or have a coffee with someone. What connections can you make easily right now and over the next week?
Today despite being fairly sure that today is the last day for my cat, I went to a place where I have friends, we chatted and got a better sense of perspective, and even though I am feeling pretty shabby about many things, I have written a thousand words which I hope will make a difference in the confidence of the people who inspire me to do what I do.
What's the truth? And who's truth is it?
As a second order activity, it is worth checking out what is true. Our natural negativity bias will be encouraging catastrophising, and sometimes a little of that can be quite cathartic. However, as one of my meditation teachers often points out, ‘all thoughts are junk’. So what is true at each of the levels of vitality? What is going on? What is good? What needs attention? What is possible? The shift from catastrophising to pragmatism is often helpful.
What and who can bring you a slice of joy? I got Wordle in two a couple of days ago. And I sat in the sun on my sofa with my cat. It’s the smallest things. We get to choose. What are you choosing?
Clive the Cat in November 2020, enjoying a patch of sun on a comfortable chair. He was a very whiskery cat.
Note: I drafted this article a few days before being able to finish and publish it. Like so many of you, working ON my business gets juggled down the priorities when capacity gets scrunched, client work was prioritised, followed by business admin, as creating new content becoming im-possible in terms of available time and mental bandwidth.
My cat lived a few days more. He was given a very gentle send off at home on Saturday morning. Coming back to the article on Monday morning, the purpose of the article remains, so I haven’t re-written it. Today, whenever it is as you read this, some of the news points in time have drifted, replaced by others and but the sentiments remain.
We can be genuinely affected by so many things - how we respond to external events & chatter is in our gift
Want to do a quick check on your vitality?
