How the Current Pandemic Situation Is Teaching You to Embrace ‘The Dip’

What Are Its Upside for Us?

Have you read the book ‘The Dip’?

It is a little book written by Seth Godin in the year 2007. Almost 13 years have passed but the wisdom it has to give still holds true today. According to Godin, there are three curves that define almost any type of situation we are facing when we are trying to accomplish something — the dip, the cul-de-sac, the cliff

The dip is a temporary setback we face along the process of making something. It’s any stumbling block we have to get through before achieving our big goal.

In these trying times, it’s the situation where your employer is downsizing the business, you have been laid off, your contract with the company just come to an end. You lose your job.

It’s graduating right off from college in the time of coronavirus. Months have passed, but you still can’t find a job. You’ve been sending a blast of emails to so many companies. But you still got no reply. You’re struggling, even to land a single interview.

It’s having your personal and professional development plans being delayed because of this unanticipated crisis we are all facing right now. It’s the current pandemic situation, it’s our dip.

Why?

Because it is just a temporary setback we all have to deal with right now. It is delaying our dreams, but that doesn’t mean we already lost it. For some, jobs can mean far beyond just a way of living. Most jobs influence how we perceive ourselves or what’s our stand in society. It dictates our self-worth, self-esteem and confidence.

But no matter how devastating our losses seem at these times, there is always hope. According to Godin, finding the right dip or being in the right dip, and learning how to lean on it, soon you’ll be able to conquer and overcome it. Winners seek the dip all the time. For them, the bigger the obstacles on their way, the bigger the reward it has to give for passing through it.

“Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can’t deal with the stress of the moment.”

Winners quit all the time.

Yes, you’ve read that right. Godin says, “The old saying is wrong — winners do quit and quitters do win.” Winners quit fast and often. They know how to weigh things, they know the benefits of quitting and sticking.

Quit the wrong stuff. Stick with the right stuff. Have the guts to do one or the other.

This current pandemic situation is not a cul-de-sac (a French word for ‘dead-end’). A cul-de-sac is a situation where things will never get better, no matter how much we do or how hard we try. Nothing much changes. Things don’t get a lot better or a lot worse. It just is.

Most people have a hard time quitting a cul-de-sac because they feel like it is easier to stick with a job or a relationship that they are already used to. They feel safe and it’s too comfortable for them, to just give up and abandon everything. But there’s a much more worst curve than this —it’s the cliff.

A cliff is a situation where you just can’t quit — you can’t help yourself anymore until you fall off. The pain of quitting gets bigger and bigger every day, you can’t stop. Just like smoking, your body gets used to having nicotine so when the time you stopped smoking, your body is craving for it. So you mindlessly continue smoking until your body gives up.

If you feel like you’re facing these two curves right now — you have to quit it.

“All coping does is waste your time and misdirect your energy. If the best you can do is cope, you’re better off quitting.”

The opposite of quitting is rededication.

If you find yourself in a dip, you can rededicate your resources to alternative ways that still lead you to your goal. Just keep on slogging, change your game plan but never quit your goal.

Losing a job or not landing a job can mean that you have the time, the energy, and the effort that you can invest to power through the dip. You can use this dip to improve yourself. Learn new skills, find a new hobby, or develop your capabilities. It’s the long stretch between starting and mastery, where you have to push harder or change the rules the way you like it, so you can thrive.

You’re not alone. We’re all in this dip.

In this time of the year, I might have been somewhere taking up my classes for the upcoming Architecture Licensure Examination. I might have been in my room, so immersed in studying and preparing for the licensure exam. But this coronavirus happened to all of us. Everything got delayed. So I tried to bend and flex myself over this dip. I started investing my time, energy, and effort into learning and being more creative — reading more books, writing, and doing some art. I studied on my own, reading fiction and non-fiction books in between. I started making my blog, writing stories, and poetry— reveling in the sheer pleasure of words. I didn’t know I have a thing for creative writing. This dip brought out the creativity in me.

Being together in this, I hope you find your coping techniques to power through the dip.

Conclusion

“Use the dip as an opportunity to create something extraordinary.”

Look at the upside of this current pandemic situation. Let’s embrace the challenge, embrace ‘the dip’.

Keep trying.

Keep pushing forward.

It’s all worth the benefit of the light at the end of the tunnel.

Thank you for reading!