Hello amazing!
The Corona-pandemic has upended lives everywhere. At first I felt a great loss and sense of disappointment. We just moved to Copenhagen to be closer to family, not to be isolated at home. Then adjusting to work from home with kids running around.
It’s still a major challenge, and I’m not here to peddle a quick-fix or “seven magic tricks.” However, there’s one thing I’ve kept returning to and that’s the shift I’ve tried to illustrate below in the Cynefin framework.
Before the crisis a large part of our world seemed to behave in ways that were complicated. This meant that with the right expertise, analysis and planning we could reasonably predict the relationship between cause and effect.
But now we are in a completely new territory: it’s complex. There are feedback loops which behave in unpredictable ways. And what the Cynefin framework teaches us is that to succeed in the complex domain we need to probe the system with intent and observe the reaction before we probe again.
For me, the single most helpful thing I’ve done throughout the past decade, especially when navigating new territory, is reflection with pen and paper. It helps me process my experiences and emotions and surface insights that I can use. It’s not a magic quick-fix and it requires effort. But it helps in small and important ways.
If you would like to get started with reflection and begin building a habit, I would be honored help you. Just get in touch via WhatsApp on +4522212355 (my e-mail is a mess). It’s my humble attempt to share freely what has helped me the most. I also plan to record a few guided reflections (like a guided meditation) and share as a podcast.
I hope you’ll mostly keep up the good spirits (and be kind and gently with yourself when you can’t)
With much love
— Mathias