We had our best Q1 ever, and then... 😬 (Startup Watching #242)

Happy Thursday Watchers!

Last week my friend Laura wrote me a note that has been really helpful over the last few days. I want to share it with all of you.

“We’re all experiencing sustained trauma in mild or extreme ways right now.

In the ‘right now,’ this triggers our deeply-engrained coping mechanisms and patterns. These are the emotional equivalents of ‘knee jerks’ and look different from person to person.

And in ‘the later,’ this trauma affects how we view and react to the world. As I’m editing this, I can hear gunshots (or hammering that sounds very much like gunshots) from Ben’s parents’ house. I can feel my heart rate increase and my focus splinter; these sounds remind me of the traumatic day we landed in Christchurch last year. Trauma does that. It reshapes you.

All of which to say, this is an extraordinary time that calls for extraordinary love and kindness–towards yourself and others. We’re in a traumatic ‘in-between’ state; we’re in between our old normal and the coming new normal. We’re looking at a global shattering wondering, ‘what just happened?’

And while we uncomfortably sit there, in the hard questions and harder realities, we need to choose our tools wisely. Love and connection are the tools that heal trauma–not shame, guilt, or fear. (Though all of these emotions are worth noting and paying attention to when we feel them!)”

Remember to choose your tools wisely.

Cheers from Charleston ✌️

Andrew

I recently start following Matthew Kobach, who runs social media for the New York Stock Exchange. Some of his content is a little too thought-leader-y but he’s a very good writer.