By Ben Hennessy (HENNESSY REAL ESTATE)

As we grapple with the new reality of life in lockdown, be it our first week, third week or beyond for our dear family and friends in the harshest affected areas of Sydney and surrounds, life in lockdown can be, well a bit of a downer.

We once again embrace the confines of life at home – plans cancelled, non-essential travel limited to 5kms from our LGAs, home-schooling and working from home the current standard fare.

With our movements and liberties significantly limited it is easy for feelings of disheartenment and frustration to gain a foothold in our lives.

However, it is precisely at these moments that we need to revisit our goals and dreams, take stock of our progress and if necessary, adjust our focus on the parts of our lives that we can control.

During our Monday morning Zoom meeting, our team spoke about the importance of setting some goals during this lockdown period.

Yes while some of our goals from the week before now needed to be reworked, the lockdown also created other unique opportunities, a chance to focus on some long-standing projects that had been relegated in priority due to the pressing fast-paced nature of the real estate industry.

Without wanting to be too eternally half-full optimistic, it is a well proven truth that for every crisis there is usually an equal corresponding opportunity or ‘silver-lining’ if we look for it.

I remember speaking with a real estate colleague from Perth a while ago.

He had immigrated from South Africa as a displaced white farmer.

He started a business in Perth and through sheer grit and hard work built up a good business for himself and his family.

During an unexpected downturn in his industry, almost overnight he lost everything and was declared bankrupt.

As he told me, the pain, frustration and humiliation (being a proud man) still showed on his face.

However, he found a way to regroup, dig deep, set some new goals and begin again.

He credited the strength of his marriage to the crisis he and his wife went through together, facing this turmoil together as a united front brought them closer together than ever before.

He is now one of Perth’s leading real estate agencies, because he found a way to look for the positive in what had happened to him.

He shared that one of his goals now when confronted with any challenging situation is to always ask ‘where is the gift?’

While this sounds simplistic, it is a profoundly powerful tool for instantly changing our outlook on the current situation facing us.

So where is the gift?

Every one of us will have a different answer for this, and our answer may involve many different things.

Setting goals is a wonderfully positive and proactive approach to taking control of our lives, even in the midst of necessary lockdown restrictions.

There are always goals we can focus on that keep positive forward momentum in our lives.

So what are yours?

Could it be making that long awaited improvement to the garden?

Maybe just finally getting around to the weeding?

Painting the spare room?

Giving the shed a spring clean?

Sorting the sock drawer?

Enrolling in an online course you’ve been thinking about?

Planning some house renovations?

Or simply spending more time with the kids?

One of my sisters has made quite the art out of dressing up as characters from Harry Potter … and I must say she does quite the impressive Hagrid impersonation!

Whether your goals are seriously natured, or simply designed to inject some light-hearted silliness into the day, know that there are always things that we can do to ensure we are living a life of our own design.

A business coach I have been blessed to work with over the last 12 years, Dr Fred Grosse, talks about designing your own ‘magnificent life’ – a life full of the moments that make your heart sing.

Often these are not necessarily grandiose milestone achievements, but are the many magic moments in our day to day lives, that can easily be missed if we are preoccupied with the busyness of life.

A 10/10 moment may be simply sitting in the sunshine with a nice cup of coffee, going on your favourite walk with the dog, a good run on a crisp dewy morning, a favourite meal shared with loved ones, some quiet time with a good book.

The list is literally endless.

The real goal is to make sure we don’t miss the moments, ensuring our minds are not preoccupied with the stresses and worries of the world, to simply stop, take some deep breathes, find ways to celebrate life and continue to look for the gift in our days.

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