Dear COVID-19, I’m Breaking Up With You

A Letter From Our CEO, Chantal Sheehan

I’m over it.
 
COVID-19.
The deaths.
The sickness.
The fear.
The grief.
The politics.
The injustice.
The media.
The government screw ups.
The lockdowns.
The conspiracy theories.
The economy.
The unemployment rate.
The PPP.
The food supply.
The feeling of loneliness.
The worry. About everything. All the time.
The hoarding.
The sickness.
The deaths.
Oh look, murder hornets.
WTF.
 
I’m so over this s#!t. I know you are, too.
 
That’s why I’ve decided it’s time to break up with COVID-19.
 
As leaders and business owners, we have a job to do. Yes, we must acknowledge and accept the reality we now find ourselves in, but we can’t afford to lose touch with each other and perhaps more importantly, ourselves. We can’t afford to sacrifice today and tomorrow’s opportunities because a virus just gave the world a horrible, epic swirlie and we’re glued to a device watching things fall apart.
 
It’s time to break up with COVID-19.
 
This is a defining moment in time, no doubt. How will this moment come to define you?
 
Remember: we have work to do. We must get up every day, lead our teams, take care of our families, and provide services and support to communities and people who rely on us. (And hopefully, find toilet paper somewhere in between.)
 
Need inspiration, or a reminder of why your work matters? Here’s a sample of the amazing things our clients have been up to – also known as why we get out of bed every day:

• STARability, Naples, FL: A quick, effective pivot to virtual programming for adults with developmental challenges gets picked up by the news [VIDEO]

 

• Zawadisha, Kenya: 12 women make 1,500 masks for their community in 2 weeks [INSTAGRAM]

 

• Together Bay Area, Berkeley, CA: A simple survey of their members – land trusts, conservation organizations, natural resource managers, and indigenous groups – turns into huge advocacy leverage. Their 24 members estimate Together’s coalition could advance investments in green infrastructure to the tune of 10,500 new jobs across 10 Bay Area counties, improving the environment and access to nature for 7.7 million people [PDF]

 

• Nyaka, Michigan/Uganda: Releases first full-length documentary – award winning, truth-telling, INSPIRING, and streaming free [VIDEO-40 min]

 
What are you up to? Let us know and we’ll give you a shout out, too. We’re in this together.
 
Still in bed? Still feeling blue?
 
Let’s throw all the damn clichés in here at once and snap the hell out of it:
 
Stay positive.
Breathe.
Just keep swimming.
Be in the moment.
Enjoy the little things.
Hug someone.
Or tell someone you wish you could.
Fix something you can fix.
Clean something you can clean.
Make a good meal.
Then give it to someone else.
Rethink your career.
Consider your long-term plans for your business.
(Make a long-term plan for your business.)
Plant a garden.
Plant a tree.
Talk to your neighbors.
Walk.
Run.
Cycle.
Breathe again.
Dream big.
Innovate.
Cogitate.
Adapt.
Improvise.
Thrive.
 
You’ve got this.
 
Here are some of our favorite resources right now for moving on and moving out of crisis mode.
 
Those of us who successfully break up with COVID-19 and end our internal toxic relationship with all that it brings will be better for it in the end. I know that sounds trite, naïve even. But it’s a hallmark of human experience that when disaster or tragedy strikes, we evolve in response. The exceptional among us turn horror into beauty, discord into order, and brokenness into wholeness.
 
Join me. Say sayonara to this stupid virus.
 
Become a stronger, better, more flexible, adaptable, sustainable person, and then empower and support those around you to do the same.
 
I’m with you.
 
Virtual Hugs,
Chantal