Did you know the Collins dictionary word of 2022 was ‘Permacrisis’? The word means the feeling of living through a period of war, inflation, and political instability. Over the last few years we have been through a lot and news headlines have been relentlessly bleak — Brexit, a global pandemic, wars, strikes, violence and unrest on our streets, the cost of living crisis, the energy crises and the climate crisis — it often feels as if the world has gone to hell in a handcart, so maybe it should not be any wonder if this is reflected in our behaviour.
In times of crisis it can feel easier to stop caring — after all if you don’t care, you can’t get hurt right and what possible difference can one person make anyway? Maybe like me you have noticed how little people seem to care about anything or anyone any more — apathy and indifference seem to rule and life feels a constant uphill battle. Full disclosure — for the last year and a half I have felt as if I am walking through treacle, in a snow storm with my umbrella blown inside out. I seem to spend my days fire fighting, taking one step forward and six steps back. Tasks that should take five minutes, take five days, five weeks or five months, no one seems to do what they say they are going to do, neither do they want to take responsibility for anything, to acknowledge mistakes, say sorry or take the initiative to sort anything, while I get passed from person to person, department to department or from organisation to organisation, then as soon as I sort one problem out a whole load more come knocking at my door — it’s exhausting.
Sound familiar? Before I began writing this blog post I undertook some research to learn if anyone else was feeling the same as me and I was dismayed to find next to no information on the importance of giving a damn but much on how not to give a sh*t and the art of not giving a f*ck, so below I offer an alternative viewpoint for your perusal.
Reduce the noise
Feeling overwhelmed by the world? The last few years have been challenging for everyone. If you feel you have too many things to do you are not alone. Set boundaries and learn to say no. Turn off notifications. Unsubscribe from email newsletters. Use the ‘do not disturb’ feature on your phone. Limit your social media use to a certain time each day.
Control the controllables
Controllables are things that are possible or easy to control. The phrase ‘control the controllables’ means to focus on what you can control, rather than what you can’t, so stop worrying about things you have no control over — you only have so much energy each day and if you use it all getting worked up about things you have no control over, it will leave you feeling unable to handle the things you can control.
One thing at a time
Modern living means it is easy to feel that you need to do everything immediately but things are not equally important. Learn to prioritise — you rarely save time by doing two things at once and will more likely lose time because you will probably need to redo a task. You will achieve better outcomes from focusing on one task at a time.
Do the best you can until you know better, then when you know better, do better
Give your all in whatever you do and do your best with what you have, then when you know more, do more. Strive to do your best today, learn from it tomorrow.
Say you don’t know
Don’t know something? Say you don’t know then find out. As tempting as it might be to ignore a request for help, pretend you do know, or make something up, that helps no one — what real harm is there in saying you don’t know but you will go away and find out?
Digital customers
Digital customers are real people. Treat them in the same way as you would if you were dealing with them face to face.
Boring work is important
So called boring jobs are often hugely important. They are the oil that keeps the engine running smoothly, the wheels that keep things moving along, the roots that keep us grounded and the foundations that ensure things don’t fall to pieces. Be proud to do boring jobs and do them well.
Don’t be afraid to be ‘woke’
The word ‘woke’ means being awake to injustice and paying attention to societal issues. Of recent the word has developed negative connotations but it is the opposite of apathy and indifference — alternative words for woke are enlightened, aware, conscious, evolved and inclusive. Don’t be afraid to be ‘woke’.
Be accountable
If a request for help arrives with you, be accountable and see it through to completion to the satisfaction of the person who asked for your help.
Always do more than is expected of you
In every job, there is always way more that could be done than is actually expected — go out of your way to help people.
Say what you mean and mean what you say
Be clear and honest about your intentions and always follow through on what you say you will do.
Give compliments
If you have received good service don’t forget to thank the person who has been good to you — send a compliment to the company they work for or leave a positive review online so that potential customers can read about your good experience. Compliments instill confidence, validate hard work, improve the receiver’s mood and encourage them to be the best version of themselves at all times.
Pay it forward
Have you been the beneficiary of a good deed? Do something kind or useful for someone because someone has done something kind or useful for you.
Just do something
No one can do everything but everyone can do something so work out what is your something to pick up and what is yours to let go, then watch as all those individual bits of good overwhelm the world.
Be the change
Don’t like the way things are? Change starts with you. Ask yourself are you treating people the way you want to be treated. If the answer is no then change your behaviour. Think what happens when you throw a stone into water, this single action creates a ripple effect and a simple act of kindness, say smiling at a stranger, can inspire others to do the same, creating a ripple effect of kindness. Be the change you want to see in other people and watch the ripple that started with you turn into a wave.
Choose to give a damn
Want to be good at something? You have to give a damn. Want others to follow you? You have to give a damn. Want to accomplish something? You have to give a damn. Want to be recognised for the work you do? You have to give a damn.
Take a look around you and instead of seeing all that is bad with the world look for the good. Yes, the world can be a terrible place but it is not wholly terrible and yes there are many people who seem to not care right now but you don’t have to join them. It may feel as if the whole world has given up and it would be easy to say ‘to hell with it’ too or you could choose to give a damn — hopefully this blog post has given you some ideas where to begin.
Sources
Further information
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