Friend, times are still very uncertain as we all know. But what I now know after the initial shock of what has happened to our world has eased slightly is that we must keep going. Yes, we're adhering to new practices and change is definitely hard but we've really been given a gift. As crazy as that sounds, this forced pause has given me a chance to reevaluate my goals and the path I'm taking to achieve them. I'm betting you're finding yourself taking stock of your own life in a similar way?

Now, having said that, I'll totally own the Netflix bingeing that took place during the stay-home orders, the eating of my feelings (so much bread!), and the sleepless nights while I panicked about the future of my business. But in honesty, that is behind me. I have chosen to use this forced pause as an opportunity to step back from the way-too-close perspective I had on my business and get a look at what's in my future. That shift in perspective has allowed me to initiate some really exciting work.

During the gnarliest stage of the not-yet-reopened phase of Covid in the Yukon (early May), I received an email telling me that I'd earned a prestigious award - The Design and Innovation Award from the Craft Council of BC in their annual earring show. It was such good news but in honesty, I couldn't quite process the scope of the win. I was still feeling uncertain about my future and my confidence had definitely been shaken with the shutdown. My reaction to the win was totally underwhelming.

When the Yukon News learned of the win, they sent a journalist to interview me and the editorial that they published was fantastic. I was starting to experience a shift in my attitude. Thank god because the way I'd been feeling was exhausting and so dreary! I was starting to remember how inspiration and joy felt.

With a renewed sense of optimism and hope for the future, I've chosen to use this time to dig deep into PR and Marketing projects and am excited to be partnering with Erik Pinkerton Photography and Alistair Maitland Photography on a truly exciting if not intimidating undertaking but I BELIEVE that it will pay off. I'm often heard saying that the Universe is always conspiring in my favour and I know it's true, even now. Especially now.

What I can tell you about how I made the shift is that I identified what made me so damned stuck. I believed that I had no power. Maybe I had no power to change the impacts of Covid on consumer behaviour or on where I was working (home or in the store) but I COULD set my sights on a target - a new project. Even with no guarantees that the project would bear fruit, I was able to create a super healthy distraction that served my business and my mental health. At this very moment, I still have no idea if the project will yield a single dollar of income (it's actually costing a ton) but I have to have hope that it will be worth my time. I'm open to seeing the value of what I'm doing in ways other than short term cash gains. I have loads of new skills and resources as a result of how I've shifted so I'm already winning.

I'd love to know what things you're doing personally or professionally to keep going forward and to nurture your own sense of future, hope, and possibility. Let me know in the comments section how you're cultivating optimism, even on the hardest days or in the smallest ways!

I know this is a super tough time with no real end in sight but I can promise you that there are silver linings in your life, you just need to look for them! If you've found any, I want to hear all about them!

Take good care of yourself. We're in this together!
xo
Vanessa