Five ways to be resourceful when the going gets tough

A number of years ago while travelling in Bosnia Herzegovina I met an old German lady. This lady was born in 1917 and was the sort of person you knew was full of life’s wisdom. One evening while sitting at dinner she told me about a German soldier who had been a prisoner of war on the Eastern front during World War 2. The only bit of food he was given to eat each day was a bowl of watery soup. How could he survive a Russian winter in a prisoner of war camp on one bowl of soup per day we may wonder?

Many of us are now needing to be more resourceful in our careers, businesses and/or personal lives. So what can we do to be more resourceful.

1. Keep everything in perspective – no matter how “bad” we perceive things to be it’s unlikely that we will find ourselves in such an extreme situation as trying to survive a Russian winter in a prisoner of war camp on one bowl of watery soup a day! And as Shakespeare reminds us “nothing is either bad or good except thinking makes it so”. 

2. Take Responsibility – as the old saying goes “if it’s going to be, it is up to me”. Once we take full responsibility for where we are in our lives, our business, our career, we are taking hold of the “reins” again. We are taking our power back and we can do something to improve our situation.

3. Be the change – whether it’s in our workplace or our home let’s stop waiting for everyone else to change to suit us, as Gandhi said “Be the Change you want to see in the world“. What change would you like to see? Well start doing exactly that in your teams, in your business, in your workplace, in your home, in your country! And the amazing thing is once we do, everything else seems to change for the better too!

4. Do something! – there’s no need to keep analysing everything trying to create a “fail safe” plan – there’s no such thing and that to be honest is a good thing! It makes us wiser and stronger. Think about it for a short time if necessary then “Do Something! Do Anything! Begin it!” If it doesn’t work first time, learn from it, try again and if necessary do something else!

5. Reconnect with People – if you can meet them, meet them. If you can phone them, phone them. If you can write to them write to them. Email and text as a last resort!. Technology is everywhere now as we know. But remember it’s a tool which is supposed to be of benefit to us. You know recently while travelling to a clients office in Luxembourg, I arrived in Charleroi airport and was unable to pay cash for a deposit on a rented car and I was unable to get on a bus because I hadn’t got a printed ticket from the internet! And guess what there was no where I could print a ticket at the airport!

I did get sorted eventually arriving at my destination six hours later and that was fine as I had allowed for it and chose to trust there was some other reason why all this happening. However both companies the car rental company and the bus company lost business because, in my opinion, they are too reliant on technology and have made it difficult to do business with them!!! Technology like a hammer is a tool and is useful but business and work is about people, always has been and always will be. Reconnect with people!

Remember the German soldier in the Russian prisoner of war camp. How did he survive on one bowl of watery soup a day? Well this old wise German lady told me he chewed each watery spoonful of soup 100 times before he swallowed it. In this way he tricked his stomach into thinking it was having loads to eat! (hey perhaps there’s an idea for a new diet here???).

The German soldier survived the war.  You too no matter where you find yourself or your relationships or  your business or your career will indeed survive! In fact I hope you absolutely thrive!

Keep the Faith and Do What Needs to be done …

Sean M Kelly

Trainer/Coach, Musician & Author

Ph: + 353 87 2494954

Sean M Kelly creates and delivers training courses which empower participants from within and show them how to use more of their infinite potential. Some of the areas he specialises in include – communication skills, mental performance in the workplace, mind mapping and speed reading, accelerated learning, team development. creativity and innovation, goal setting and action planning and showing people how to turn their dreams into reality (Dare to Dream course). As well as delivering training to global companies Sean also delivers training to many small businesses, inspiring them on to the next level. You can contact Sean on +353 87 2494954 for any enquiries. All enquiries are welcome.

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