One big idea that will make you think.

 Written by Nathalie Blais, Co-founder of Canada Coach Academy

I love books. Anyone who knows me will attest to that. I struggled so much to come up with a Top 10 reading list for our students I gave up and made it a Top 40 List! Books have inspire me to contemplate perspective. And boy do we need perspective in today’s pandemic.

What if COVID-19 Is Happening For Us, Not To Us?

Bold idea? What if everything is exactly as it should be? What becomes possible? I’ve had many important conversations in the last week. Some with people feeling emotional, filled with fear and anxiety. And some with people who are looking for the silver lining. The latter could potentially change the future.

It’s at 2mm Shift

Without diminishing the seriousness of the situation, I’m reminded of the power of the 2mm Shift. Many coaches have heard me impress upon them the power of a small shift in perspective to lead to big transformations. Shifts have the power to take you from victim to empowered, allowing you to see a situation- even a crisis- through a new lens. Historically, shifts are responsible for many innovations in times of crisis.

Take the 1918 Spanish Flu pandemic that lasted almost 3 years. It was precisely because of the crisis that the 1920s saw many governments embrace the concept of socialized medicine—healthcare for all, delivered free at the point of delivery. Would it surprise you to know Russia was the first country to put in place a centralized public healthcare system? The Spanish Flu can also be credited with giving epidemiology—the study of patterns, causes and effects in disease— full recognition as a science, now a cornerstone of public health.

Psychologist will tell you in times of panic, the brain says to itself: “Oh! My survival is at risk, so I’d better start thinking and learning fast and furiously right now.” When you have skin in the game, when your life is threatened, your brain has the capacity to ignite and get really creative, twirl ideas and contemplate new perspectives.

Companies are the greatest example of “emergency innovation”. When your bottom line depends on innovation to stay afloat, crisis mode is your friend. The question I often ask companies is: What programs have you created to allow courage and innovation to rise up in times of peace? Those companies who’ve managed to implement psychological safety in the workplace in the best of times, are those that thrive in the worst of times. And it’s for one simple reason; the core of innovation is courage.

The core of innovation is courage.

The primary ingredient in innovation isn’t brains. It’s guts. It’s the kind of courage that steps up under fire. Just ask Elon Musk.

When we allow courage to rise and be proven, in a way that unlocks the power of the human mind and the potential of the human spirit, anything is possible.

The world needs your courage today. So what are you capable of when you start to see this worldwide crisis as happening for you, not to you?