Leading through any crisis can be extremely demanding on our bodies.
It can have a significant impact on both our mental or psychological wellbeing as well as our physical health.
You may find yourself doing longer hours, doing more physically demanding activities to cover for any gaps you identify or stressing and worrying about what the future may bring to you and your people.
When we are faced with these situations, we usually take reasonable care of our physical wellbeing by exercising, resting, eating well or sleeping. Our body will tell us this, and if we fail to listen, then bodies can just shut down.
But what do you do when your psychological health is not where it needs to be? How do you take care of your mental health?
For years we have been educated to take care of our physical bodies through magazines, social media, TV Commercials, advertising or our family and friends, but what do we see to help us with our psychological wellbeing – very little.
During any crisis, your people turn to you as their leader for guidance, direction, vision and most importantly to lead – to show them how it is done. If you are not coping, your team will see and sense this and the impact it can have on them can make the situation worse.
You need to slow down, step back and not only assess the crisis but also assess your ability to cope and deal with the situation and develop personal strategies to maintain your personal health and wellbeing.
The following Ted Talk by Guy Winch shares the importance of maintaining good health.
https://www.ted.com/talks/guy_winch_why_we_all_need_to_practice_emotional_first_aid?language=en
