How Nursing School prepared me for the Covid Crisis

April 2, 2020
Kelly Schaefer

The other day I was preparing a small training for people in my Concierge Connections Group when I had a FAR Distant memory that came flooding back.

This memory was from 1996, the year I graduated from Nursing School.

My final writing assignment was to be on something I felt deeply passionate about…

I had a strong belief then AND NOW, in Death with Dignity.

That the death process, the “whole human” and human experience should be considered.

I know – What THE holy hell does this have to do with business?

Stay with me!

Death with Dignity to me represents our decisions and supporting someone ( and their family ) through the process from the human to the spiritual aspect…

So during my research, I read a book, by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross titled, On Death and Dying.

In her book, she outlines and explains the five stages of grief individuals experience when faced with a catastrophic personal loss.

The five stages are:

Denial

Anger

Bargaining

Depression

Acceptance

You see, in all 5 phases of grief, we ACT and REACT in different, and often very predictable ways.

So how does THIS support us during the current COVID Crises? And how can we LEARN FROM this experience, right now?

You see, we’re all facing what many would refer to as a “catastrophe”.

And through predictable HUMAN patterns, we can use what we know about the 5 Phases of Grief in relation to loss and crisis IN our CURRENT state of BUSINESS!

This is why you should NOT be doing ANY Marketing until you understand this:

This is how the 5 phases of GRIEF COULD be showing up in YOUR Business right now!

The 5 Stages of Business Grief are related to Loss, Current Crisis and for some When you Feel Trapped and unable to move forward…

This comes from feelings of Loss of Income, clients, connection, team, our own PURPOSE!

While it’s IMPORTANT for each individual to progress and go through these phases in their OWN way and on their OWN timeline, the reason this is SO important now is that we want to be MOVING Forward and Taking Action from the RIGHT stage of grief…

Otherwise, we are navigating from an ineffective skillset. And whatever you DO is coming from the wrong place…

Let’s share how this MAY be showing up for you right now:

Stage 1 – Denial

A business owner in this phase may try to ignore and turn away from their reality in an attempt to immediately feel better. People also in this phase tend to pretend and “carry on as usual” even though everything has shifted.

The downside:
You avoid taking part in forward planning and ignore what’s happening around you.

Stage 2 – Anger

The delayed reaction caused by denial gives in to feelings of anger.

At this stage, business owners ( all humans ) may start blaming others. In this current state of life, I’ve been watching people blame: the government, the industry, their own customers ( because people aren’t spending as willingly right now ), even each other.

Think of alllll the anger around people who are being forced to stay in their homes and people who are still playing basketball on the court because they feel young and healthy.

Then we turn on OURSELVES!! Why wasn’t I better prepared. Why didn’t I have 6 months of cash sitting in my account? Why did I invest in that new software and now I can’t even use it …

The downside:
WE are NOT in a state to make decisions. And when we do make decisions, we are doing so from a state of lack, fear, and anger.

Stage 3 – Bargaining/Rationalization

Have you EVER bargained with God?

If you get me through this God, I PROMISE I will do this? WE seek to reach compromise. But bargaining NEVER leads us to a Long-term solution. Instead, we tend to irrationally start doing things that are merely a band-aid to the long-term problem.

I’ve watched people trade their time for solutions that won’t serve for the long game. Many people are spending all their time seeking government help while they aren’t USING this time to continue to market and nurture their communities when they need it the most!

People in this also often try to negotiate lower prices and undercut themselves as a Bargaining chip.

The Downside:
People rationalize that “the market is dead” “nothing will work now” “I might as well just wait to get started”. They succumb to inaction because they’ve rationalized the fact that nothing is going to work.

Stage 4 – Depression/Despair

OHHHH Nelly!! I completely had a meltdown 2 weeks ago. Not around despair with my businesses, but around the fact that my husband and I are living in different homes during this time to keep us safer. ( He works in healthcare )

This phase begins often as the anger begins to wear off and the realization of what is happening genuinely hits.

This is when our lifeforce and moral are lowest. It then trickles into every crevice of our lives. Business, family relationships, friendships, how we connect ( or rather how we disconnect ) from our team, our customers and community.

Now look – I’m not saying we should SKIP over this part, what I’m saying is to be aware, honor yourself, acknowledge your own feelings, but remember that you DON’T have to STAY there.

And as a human first and business owner second … we can find soooo many reasons to STAY in this depleted state.

The Downside:
In a state of depression, our thoughts become pervasive in our everyday tasks… we may even find ourselves fixating on small issues or problems in an attempt to stay stuck.

Eventually, we can allow the pain to consume us.

Stage 5 – Acceptance

Many of us have more resilience than we give ourselves credit for. It is through ACCEPTANCE of what is. The knowing that there is no other way at this time, that we get to use our creative brains. To seek and find solutions.

In this phase we accept, begin to hope and trust. We dig down into our own FAITH that all will be WELL again.

During this time is when we can actually begin to ACT in a positive way. To Move forward with thoughts, ideas, solutions, and excitement.

ONLY here will we come up with the next right steps…

Crisis and problems are inevitable in a business. The key is to recognize the crisis and allow yourself to move forward in a way that is most supportive to YOU and your business.

HERE is where we begin anew – as a HIGHER elevated version of ourselves…

Hey Friend … I’ve been sharing for almost 2 weeks now how its OUR JOB right now to stand up and show up in ways that will KEEP YOU RELEVANT!

Here’s the thing…

No matter where you are in your business right now… just starting – or been rockin it for years – the state of what is happening NOW in April 2020 is unprecedented!

Without a PLAN for HOW to show up in your community, you WILL be left out in the cold…

Why? Because the “noise” of the world WILL 100% overshadow anything you’re doing right now…

BUT NOT if you do so in a way that keeps you TOP of MIND – That Maintains your RELEVANCY …

If you’re uncertain about how to show up – or what you could “possibly” be doing right now…

Don’t sit back and let things Happen TO YOU –

In Our 4-WEEK Training I’ll be mapping out EXACTLY what you should be DOING right NOW ( during all this crazy ) to keep your community engaged – and NEW people interested…

But to get the step-by-step action plan and to do it in REAL Time during our 4-week training …

You Have to be Registered (and we start Monday)

This is your OPPORTUNITY!!

Want to be ahead of the curve?

Want to be ahead of your competition? ( side note – I don’t believe in competition – but many do )

Come join me – and over a dozen other Concierge from across the country…

Register Here: ( Its Legit only $97!!! ) 4 FULL weeks of training, hand-holding, templates and action items that you will take and use on your OWN business…

https://theconciergeacademy.com/coaching

I’m not here to pursue you to do for YOU – I’m here with an opportunity – If you don’t want to fall victim to the panic and want to be proactively preparing for the doors to open…

Let’s GO!! Join us: https://theconciergeacademy.com/coaching