Volatility is still high in our world. Reports of a recent uptick of Covid has created uncertainty of how school will look this year and the possibility of travel restrictions. This along with whatever is going on in your family, job or business and it’s enough to trigger feelings of anxiousness in just about anyone. Uncertainty has always been around in one form or another and is not going away no matter what the outcome of Covid or the latest personal crisis in your life. What’s needed are skills to manage uncertainty and other threats we perceive in day-to-day life.

The Issue:

Our minds are wired to perceive threats and respond to them. There are five major threats that David Rock points out in his book Your Brain at Work. These are Status, Certainty, Autonomy, Relatedness and Fairness (SCARF). Whenever any one of these is threatened, we have a fight, flight or freeze response.

Let’s Unpack This:

Whenever your status, certainty, autonomy, relationships, or fairness are threatened you will move away from the source of threat. Whenever these are affirmed, you’ move toward the source of affirmation. The implications of this is profound. Think about your family and work life:

• Do you feel good enough and affirmed by family members, those you work with, and your boss? If you are a small business owner, do you feel good enough in your performance?
• Do you feel certain in your family situation, with your job, co-workers and boss? If you are a small business owner, do you feel certain or shaky about your business?
• Do you feel like you have autonomy to make decisions and freedom to explore in your personal life and on your job?
• Do you feel good about the level of relationship you have within your family, co-workers and boss? If you are a small business owner, are you connecting with people at a deeper level outside of your work?
• Do feel that you are treated equally in your family, job and society?

What About You?

So how did you do? How threatened do you feel? How safe?

And just as important, how much do you create a threat? How do you make people feel safe?

We’ll dive into the SCARF model more in the next two weeks focusing on home life and work/business life so keep an eye out for this very practical help. Your life, family and work will be greatly improved if you do!

I’d love to hear your experience so leave a comment below. If this resonates with you and you’d like talk more about this topic, please schedule a 15-minute call and we can explore this together.