To be perfectly honest, over the last few days I have wanted to curl up in a ball and wait till this is all over. But, my more rational side is saying that this too shall pass and that I must remember my family, my faith, and the hard work I have put into cultivating my business and clients over the last 12 years.
With that said, I believe it is healthy for us to say “I am fed up! I just worked for a year on a trip and now I won’t get paid.” Feel it. Hear it. I have read a lot communication over the last two weeks, but no one is addressing or expressing the massive amounts of frustration that some of us, if not all of us are feeling. Yes, we are seeing the frustration with policies, etc. but that’s not what I am talking about.
My travel friends, I am saying it loud and clear for you all to hear. I am depleted, I am disgruntled, and I sad, so very, very sad to watch so much of my hard work go down the tube. This must be said. I can’t be the only one. Say it out loud, say it into a pillow, just get it out. This is real and it is OK to feel it and it is OK to say it.
Now, what I decide to do with this frustration is the next step. I don’t like the term “moving forward” because right now we aren’t moving anywhere. But what I can do to move to the next hour, the next day, the next week. Let’s start small folks.
First, every day quiet your mind. Take a deep breath, find a quiet space, practice yoga, which I am terrible at, or meditation. Try to find a sense of peace. I have always been more of a high energy, music thumping exerciser, but right now, I am finding this isn’t what is filling up my cup. What is filling up my cup is quiet. Give it a try as you start or finish your day. My hope is that you will find a sense of calm and continue the practice even when business it back to “normal.”
Next, find joy in something. I have two children at home doing online school for the next couple of weeks if not longer. Something I keep saying to them is find joy in something every day. Is there an old board game you haven’t played in a while; is there a recipe you want to try? Build something or paint something. I am trying to take this advice as well and find joy in the travel industry. For me, it is doing the online learning courses for our beloved travel suppliers. Escaping on a virtual river cruise right now sounds delightful, exploring the Galapagos is exciting, and checking out the fun activities at a new resort makes me want to plan my next group. This is now my escape and my joy.
Finally, when I feel like my cup is full and I am energized to tackle my business I am strategizing. Take time to look at your business model, monthly sales, and marketing plan. Go through old brochures, organize files, and clean up your client database. Strongly consider implementing a service fee. Create language to explain the why behind the fee. This is an opportunity to hit the reset button on your business, look at things differently, and make changes that you never felt comfortable making before.
Take this time to ask yourself, how do you feel, express those feelings, reflect, and then lay out plans on how to move your business to the next phase. It’s time for that hard reset, Ctrl, Alt, Delete.
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