Perspective Is Everything | Shifting Your Perspective Is Crucial To Adapting To New Times

Perspective is everything. Having gratitude for a fresh perspective is like hitting the jackpot. Especially when you’ve spent the last 2 weeks descending into a hole of overwhelm. I’m a positive, glass is half full woman, but times have been tough for even the most spiritual and positive beings.

Two weeks ago, the CT governor announced salons would be reopening May 20, 2020. One of my businesses is a full service salon. This announcement instantly enraged me. A flood of emotion swirled inside of me as I watched his press conference on TV. Disbelief, that he felt an industry that touches others for hours at a time should be part of Phase One in reopening the state during a pandemic. Fear, of being exposed to this deadly virus and what if I bring it home to my husband, daughter or mother and her husband who also live with us part time and have compromised immune systems. Worry, about where my employees would stand on this news. It’s my job as their leader to protect them as best as I can during this time. Anger, at so many things such as this pandemic itself. Anger at our government treating us like guinea pigs. Confusion. How can they tell us for months that we must avoid other beings, stay 6 feet apart when we go out but please, stay home if you can, and at all costs DO NOT touch anyone while at the same time telling those of us who physically touch others and wash their heads for a living to go forward and just do your best with the 18 page guidelines we’re throwing at you? Frustration. Yes, we want our businesses to reopen and thrive yet that feels near impossible under the reopening guidelines. We can only operate at 50% but still must find a way to pay 100% of our overhead. That’s a recipe for any business to fail. Exhaustion. Holy Lord, the mental exhaustion which ultimately morphs into physical exhaustion. The coordination of all these new protocols is utterly exhausting. From how to even get our hands on the proper cleaning solutions and protective gear (PPG) to figuring out how to stagger my team’s schedules to accommodate their lack of childcare (schools are still closed) and keeping hundreds of clients updated and simply being an open ear to my employee’s concerns and honoring their feelings while leading them into how we’ll get this done. I haven’t even touched upon how many weddings we’ve had to move to next year and what each one of those entails.

That’s where my mind had been living the last 2 weeks. In a tornado of overwhelming emotions. I’m not one who likes to sit in low vibration energy for any longer than I have to. We do need to honor our feelings and sit with them a as they reveal themselves but we can’t get stuck there. Sometimes its a struggle to get out of that lower level when something the magnitude of a pandemic hits. But, we have to work on changing our perspective every single day until it finally does. When it does finally change, that’s the time to show it gratitude. Practicing gratitude for anything is like giving nutrient dense soil and fertilizer to what you want to grow and flourish. We must practice gratitude for a fresh perspective because that’s what our complex souls need to thrive.

This past Sunday evening, at the end of Mother’s Day, I went into my bathroom in the dark. As I sat down (giving all of you TMI here) the light from the TV illuminated the outline of something strange in front of me. I squinted and focused on what was a plastic, pink unicorn on my sink starring at me. My daughter had taken a bath earlier and left it out to dry. I couldn’t help but smile. Joy. There it was, that one little thing I needed to shift my perspective. A unicorn watching you pee can do that, apparently. I literally felt a gentle light spread inside my heart. That is the change, the shift in action. We’re pure energy, us humans. Pay close attention, each emotion is all energy.

Now its 3 days later and I’m on my front porch with coffee and dogs and hear the birds chirping. I have a different perspective on reopening my business. I still feel its too early and we decided as a team to reopen June 9th, 2 weeks later than what we’re allowed. That’s still too early in the greater scheme of things but this business that I gave up my past career for and sacrificed years of time with my family and friends will not tank because I was too fearful to reopen with all precautions and safety measures. It won’t go down without giving it all I have. I won’t let it. We will reopen armed with all the fear and tenacity. It won’t be easy.  We will cry at how different it is and how restricted we feel as creatives who chose to serve others as a career. We will be exhausted from inhaling our own carbon dioxide in our face masks for hours while vigorously scrubbing every square inch with harsh chemicals for 15+ minutes in between each client. We will hold back from hugging our clients who we’ve come to know everything about and haven’t seen in months. We’ll mutter through our masks, “SO happy to see you and thank you for coming back”. We will question if staying in this career is even worth it anymore because this new way of operating prevents us from making as good an income and building our clientele books and it just.feels.so.different. But let me answer that now, Yes, it is. Because it won’t be this way forever. It won’t be this strict forever. I didn’t choose being an owner of 2 businesses and a women’s life coach, and writer because its easy. I chose all this because it’s my calling, to guide women on their journey to their most powerful selves. Denying a calling is putting a nail in the coffin for me. I will continue to lead my team and encourage them and be the one they can come to and the end of an exhausting week where it feels like triple the amount of work for far less income (again, because of the state guidelines). I will stand them up and remind them of who they are, why they chose this career and what they’re capable of and that we must adapt. Most importantly, I will tell them this is only their current circumstance, not a life sentence.

I think our industry will change but its always changing and we’re always evolving. I do not think we will always remain at 50% operation and be forced to stay so restricted in the little box we have to stand in now. I’m so grateful for this change in my perspective. My heart and soul needed this shift to allow me to be the leader I need to be going into this new chapter. I’ve been called tenacious throughout my career by many people. Now is no different, I’m still tenacious as hell. I’m opening my heart up to being fluid and letting go of the vibrations that don’t serve me well to make room for what I need to bolster me and continue to adapt. It’s a dance. It’s gratitude for a fresh perspective.

p.s. Since first starting to write this post, I’ve found all the proper PPE and medical grade cleaners I need to reopen. I spread the news to other salons around the state for them to get what they need to reopen their salons safely as well. Success lies not in helping your business thrive but also in supporting other women in business. Together we can better protect our teams and our community through proper execution of these new safety protocols.