Clarity: Yes - it's a time to be strong! Getting Real!

Boy - is it what!!!

It really is a time to get real about what's going on! The best way to do this is to get it down on paper - in the form of what coaches call "Your Baseline".

Time to be clear about your current situation - to write a clear baseline, describing things as they really are - holding no punches and not gilding the lily.

My Chechoslavakian friend Ilya tells me that whenever he asks a Kiwi - "How are you today?" ....and it's obvious they are having a tough time of it - he says they invariably say something like: "Great! I'm having a few challenges!"

He sees that as pretending and not facing the reality of things. That's always been a tough point of view for me as I am a believer that your words create your reality....but in terms of writing and being honest about your baseline - if you start trying to be a positive thinker - it's simply not being honest!

In the second world war, Winston Churchill (one tough old bugger!) organised a special ministry department, whose job it was to report to him, reports on how things really were going. He got to see how badly things were going on the Western Front, he got to see how hopelessly outnumbered and outflanked Britain was, he got to see the brutal superiority of

the German technology and firepower - That information certainly wasn't to be leaked to the public about how bad things were...that was for the leadership and the leadership alone.

He faced the facts - just how they were. That's what we have to do if we want to win at the game of thriving in these uncertain times!

But Winston always maintained that that was how he slept soundly at

night - knowing how bad things were and knowing that there were no surprises!

So, when you are facing whatever challenges are coming your way - be brutally honest when you describe your baseline - this honesty is not for public consumption - it's just so you can face the facts and get real about your situation!