This is a messaged penned to our team, distributed a few weeks ago. Every Friday, or second Friday, one of our Directors provides an update for our team as part of our ongoing strategy to be transparent and to keep our dispersed team connected.
For the sake of this exercise, I have not updated or changed what was written to give you a peak behind the curtain.
Friday Update:
Hi Team,
I wanted to share a thought or two given that Friday has rolled around again. We all shivered through another week, and I felt a little more connected to you guys through jumpers and heaters! Thanks for your sacrifice in making me feel a little less far away!
Since Covid started, and even before, I have really struggled with more intense forms of exercise; even though I admit that I generally know why we need to for many reasons. I have been walking a bit and doing yoga regularly but long gone was the semi-pro soccer player who loved to run and chase the intensity of a weight’s sessions and ultimate sweating.
I just went for a run, the first one I have really enjoyed in a long long time. I ran for longer and I ran faster than I anticipated I could. And I wasn’t even chasing a ball. I was, however, playing a weird version of reverse dodgem cars with every other soul in the park where the ultimate goal is evade and avoid! Almost as enjoyable…
One thing made the difference for me: I was speaking to a mental health professional and he explained what happens in my brain when I get my heart rate up. He said ‘getting your heart pumping, even for a minute at a time, actually flushes out the cortisol (the really shitty stress chemicals) that otherwise sit in our brain and sluggishly move through’. I know the damage cortisol can have, and in some ways have felt the build-up of it over the last few months.
*disclosure, I didn’t look into the science of this but my gut said it made sense and lined up with all the other research I had read so I decided to go with it.
So today I decided to go for a run to flush out the chemicals in my brain. It was a game changer. Why was it that framing it this particular way changed the entire way I engaged with this particular activity that I have found SO HARD for so long?
My hypothesis – it tapped into a different purpose and reason WHY I should go do said activity. I am not alone in saying that some days since we started this journey have been incredibly difficult and, in some ways, during those times I lost my ability to show up and engage in the way I want to until I remembered elements of why I’m here doing this thing. I wanted to share a couple of these reasons why that are personal to me but also are at the soul of Escape Hunt and DoE:
- This community of people are important to me and I want to build and contribute to it because I believe in the power of human connection – I also believe that building and creating together forges strong relationships and we need that right now.
- Fostering a sense of purpose. I believe as humans we need purpose and to contribute to something in order to thrive.
- I believe the world needs more fun and a different way of seeing something and we achieve that through what we offer. Think back to that first weekend we re-opened our escape room offering and by far it was most of our highlights from that week – bringing something fun and awesome to people.
- Working towards a sustainable business. We’ve been hit hard. Things don’t look the same and especially with DoE, people want to but might not be able to engage with us in the way they want to just yet. This doesn’t mean they won’t be able to. We need to hang around long enough to be able to be here when that tide shifts. We are getting super creative in how we are building this together. It might feel like a lot of strange shifting pieces, but taking a step back I can see how they are starting to come together. I also want us to give it the best shot in hanging around for us!!
- Pushing this as far as we can. What Tony and Paul are doing with Tech is super cool and is opening up even more opportunity for us. What you guys are making with WT is pretty incredible. TT guys have nailed the experience. Watching the small Gatsby clip gave me a massive ‘hells yes’ moment that has let me get excited about Gatsby making appearances beyond Brisbane – way beyond!
In the days that are coming where I’m going to find engaging with work a little harder – this is what I am going to read back over.
Just a thought – what is your why? Why for being here, but why for doing the other stuff you’re doing? Have you framed it in a way that actually resonates for you and gives you a reason to show up on the days you don’t want to.
Have a stunner of a weekend team. Eat some pancakes and show up in a way that makes sense for you.
I’ll leave you, our reader, with this:
Are you clear on your why?
How do you stay connected to your why when those tough days inevitably arrive?
