Just as a sailor looks to a lighthouse to orient themselves, so too can we build a personal lighthouse to ensure our decisions and behaviours are guided intentionally during this uncertain time. With full houses and full brains, we can all be feeling a bit seasick. Taking the time to build our own lighthouse can help to steady our minds.

At Transitioning Well, we use this tool to help people ‘get out of auto-pilot’ so they can make more conscious choice about how they want to integrate work and life. As we navigate the uncharted waters of COVID-19, getting clear on what is most important – our values – is a valuable way to prioritise our precious time and energy.

Another helpful way to think about this is to use a time collapse technique and ask ourselves, “Thinking about my team/family in a year’s time, when I look back at what we’ve all been through, what do I want their experience to have been? What are the things that I most want them to remember about the way we were as a team/family during this time?”

Once we have built our lighthouse, it’s vital that we don’t leave it on the horizon. We need to bring it into the here and now so that it can guide our everyday behaviours. For example, if staying healthy is one of our values, then what actions can we take each day to stay well – like going for a walk, or prioritising sleep over ‘one more’ Netflix episode! 

Give it a try – you can find more information about building your lighthouse here. You may even find it valuable to build a family or team lighthouse.