Photo by Khoa Võ: 

“Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, but about learning to dance in the rain.”

— Vivian Greene

Earlier this year my mum had a fall, she lives in a residential home and has advanced Alzheimer’s. When she fell, the staff were told not to move her until the paramedics could arrive and do a thorough examination in case she had broken a bone. 

I arrived to be with my mum while we waited for the medics, the care staff were amazing and made her as comfortable as she could be.

We waited and waited and the longer we waited the more helpless I felt. My dad, was also hurting and I was hurting for him, I was anxious and sad and a whole gamut of emotions swept through me as time ticked on. 

The paramedics did arrive eventually, after 21 hours. It felt like a lifetime. When they did though, they were amazing, my mum hadn’t broken any bones and all was ok in the end.

The fact is, you and I, we will both face factors that are outside of our control, in our lives and in our businesses, unexpected challenges crop up all the time. A supplier can let you down, a delivery company can suddenly go bust and these things are simply and firmly outside of your control.

And what happens then?

Do you throw your arms up in the air with total drama and resignation, give up and give in and convince yourself that the whole world and their dog are against you?

Do you crawl under the quilt in a hot mess of a meltdown and simply opt out of life?

The Power of Acceptance

In my situation, it was only at the point when I accepted that there were things I could do and focussed only on those, I was able to calm the anxiety and cope as best I could.

In business, letting go of what’s beyond your control can feel like relaxing a tightly gripped fist after holding on for too long.

It’s a release of tension that makes space for clarity and calm.

Instead of feeling consumed by what-ifs or the weight of trying to control the uncontrollable, there’s a quiet sense of relief—a moment where you realise you don’t have to carry that load anymore. 

Letting go isn’t about giving up; it’s about trusting yourself and the process, knowing that you’re building resilience with every small step forward.

Building Resilience – Starbucks

In the early 2000s, a global coffee crisis caused a significant increase in raw coffee bean prices. This was completely outside Starbucks’ control, but it threatened their profitability.

But, instead of passing all costs to consumers, Howard Schultz focused on securing long-term coffee supply partnerships with farmers, which also came with the added benefits of sustainability and fair trade.

To diversify revenue, Starbucks introduced premium pricing for some products while also innovating with new and exciting snacks and merchandise. 

That’s how Starbucks did it.

But what about your business? What happens on a smaller scale when one of your suppliers let’s you down or you find yourself losing revenue to a new and unexpected competitor?

Here are some tips:

• Stay flexible
  • Stop…..everything, quiet your mind long enough to take in what’s happening from a bigger picture perspective. Then ask yourself if there are things you can do differently, can you find an alternative supplier in a short timescale? What about making your loyal customers feel extra valued by sending a ‘thank you’ offer?
• Get support
  • If you’re part of a business owners’ community – ask for support, ideas and help.
• Focus on small actions
  • Taking the smallest of actions can help make you feel in control again. For example, if shipping issues are causing delays you could send an email to your customers explaining the situation.
  • If sales are slow in January you could use the time to make sure your website is doing it’s best job by rewriting old product descriptions or optimising page load speeds.

Positive Energy In Challenging Situations

To be honest with you, staying positive when things are going to shit around you is hard. Many people I know (myself included) are big fans of positive affirmations – BUT they come with a note of caution.

If everything is crumbling in front of you and you start telling yourself that ‘it’s all happening perfectly’ it’s too much of a stretch and your BS radar will tell you that in your heart you simply don’t believe it.

However, if you feel like you can get behind a statement like ‘I am capable of handling what comes my way’ or ‘I choose to focus on what I can control’ then do it, and as you are saying this type of affirmation really feel the intention behind it, believe in yourself my lovely.

In my situation with my mum, I focussed on controlling the communication of what was happening, to mum’s wider family network, I focussed on being a reassuring presence for my dad because he sorely needed it and I focussed on trusting the staff of the care home to take over when I was too tired to sit on the floor with my mum any more.

A 5 minute exercise for you

• think of one current challenge in your business, identify one small positive aspect of the situation,  and reframe the challenge as an opportunity.
• Start the reframe with the following “ I am thrilled [Enter challenge here] is happening because…….
• And keep going

I’m thrilled my mum fell over and was lying on a cold hard floor for 21 hours because

• I got the opportunity to be of service to my dad and the wider family network.
• I was reminded how much I love my mum even though she doesn’t recognise me anymore.
• I was reminded how grateful I am to the staff at the care home for the love and care they give my mum when I’m not there.

And I’m sure I could keep going but this newsletter is getting too long…. 

Conclusion:

Resilience in business comes with experience and time, yes, but it also comes with self-compassion and giving yourself a break when there are things happening that you simply can’t do anything about.

Be flexible and understanding, while we can’t control everything, 

We can control our response.

We can control our attitude.

We can control our internal voice and quiet it if it threatens to derail us.