So, that week was a ride. Prince Charles caught coronavirus. The world economy caught a terrible break. And more than ever I realised that catching the generosity bug was one thing that could help anchor us all right now.
One small defining moment was when I was at the supermarket and a pallet of toilet paper was brought out from the storeroom. Every roll was snapped up in 30 seconds. People were actually running. One woman who missed out was approached by another woman, a stranger, who offered to split her 24 pack in half.
It's one thing to read about random acts of kindness but to see it was inspirational.
Wherever we're headed, whatever uncertainty we feel, I'm having to dig deep and I wonder if you are too. My husband JP and I did a lot of talking about coronavirus and decided that no matter what—like the woman in the supermarket—if we pull together, we're going to be better for it.
We're going to come out the other side, and I want us all—us as a family, as a community, as humanity—to look back knowing we were the best we could be. My motto during a crisis is this: I must look back when this is done and be proud of who I've been, who I'm becoming, and how I lived my values.
How we handle ourselves in this moment is the one true certainty we have. If we choose. I want a path for me right now that is paved with love. With compassion. With tolerance.
That meant that at The Coaching Institute, we launched 'gratitude week' to live the love and abundance that are at our core.
Our plan was to serve as much as we could to make differences in people's lives. Because we're all in this together, it felt like there was so much opportunity to give to others.
But we wanted what we did to be useful and tangible, not just slogans.
First up, we kickstarted a global group of coaches called Coach Your Neighbour.
The idea is that around a quarter of a million coaches all over the world reach out to just one person who is hurting, and offer their help for free. Right now, we have so much to offer, and this is a wonderful way to make use of our amazing gift of coaching.
All of you out there who are coaches, reach out. Pick up the phone, hit up Zoom or Skype and connect. It will make a difference.
Then we hit on the idea of keeping people physically healthy as well as mentally. Over and over, the World Health Organisation has said one way to stop the spread of coronavirus is to use hand sanitiser regularly, so with the dwindling supply of it in the shops, we saw an opportunity to serve the community.
Realising there was a shortage of hospital-grade hand sanitiser in Australia when people are desperate for it, JP and I sourced some and offered it to our community at cost. We also sourced government-approved masks, which we're giving away with the sanitiser. We hope the sanitiser gives you peace of mind and the mask protection if you have to leave home.
Because good things come in threes, TCI decided to take our generosity journey further and decided to give away our life-affirming Empowering You training program to anyone for free. If you're not familiar with Empowering You, it's all about identifying the significant emotional events from the past and redefining ourselves—all of ourselves.
JP and I keep coming back to what matters most. It's the small things: living our purpose, staying emotionally connected, and being human, imperfect and kind while we fuck it all up. We're reaching out to friends and family, we're not over obsessing about the media and we're remembering that feelings are no facts, only indicators of our perceptions.
We're being grateful and expressing that gratitude every day.
Let's stay close. #StrongerTogether.
Thinking of you and your family.
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