In most contracts, force Majeure is a clause that removes liability for inability to honour obligations due to catastrophic events that are construed as acts of God such natural disasters.
It also includes unforeseeable occurrences such as warfare, epidemics and lockdowns.
When such things occur, such as many of them are occurring in many people’s lives globally, there is very little people can do to avert consequences.
We all encounter challenges and failures in our lives. This is regardless of how smart we are or what we do.
Some challenges and failures are caused by what is commonly called ‘force majeure’ which is a French term that literally means ‘greater force.’
In most contracts, force Majeure is a clause that removes liability for inability to honour obligations due to catastrophic events that are construed as acts of God such natural disasters. It also includes unforeseeable occurrences such as warfare, epidemics and lockdowns.
When such things occur, such as many of them are occurring in many people’s lives globally, there is very little people can do to avert consequences.
In view of this it is expected that goals will be missed. Sales targets will not be hit. Obligation will not be met and enterprises as well as individuals will be stressed.
In these times avoid the temptation of blaming yourself or accepting failure in totality. Look at the other side of failure – it is times of failure, that the most important lessons are learned. It is when inventions and new ways of survival are born.
The most important survival skills in such times is resilience – the ability to bounce back after a setback.
As a business person, employee, parent, spouse or a student resilience is one attribute that is critical to overcoming obstacles and achieving your goals.
All achievers believe that they have what it takes to make it and that setbacks are temporal. They develop resilience to rise up every time they are knocked down.
Fortunately, resilience is a choice. When the unexpected happens and you suffer a huge setback, you have the choice to either quit or rise up and continue pursuing your goal.
In such trying moment there are certain key strategies that have proven very helpful.
First, stay focused on your goals and whatever you do. Avoid abandoning what you have been doing to pursue what seems better or easier. Remember the saying that the grass looks greener the other side but it is all mirage.
Second, conduct due diligence in whatever you do to avoid common and costly mistakes. Like carpenters live by the adage, ‘Measure twice—cut once.’ In carpentry it is much easier to redraw the line than to put the board back together.
Third, cerebrate your successes. Do not let the things that are going wrong in your life cloud the better side that has potential to boost your resilience if put in the right perspective.
Finally take care of your health and relations because this is your greatest wealth all the time. Challenges and obstacles are more overwhelming when you are sleep-deprived, sickly, lonely, spiritually low and lacking social support.
Work on your spiritual, social and personal health daily. Developing healthy habits such as eating well, sleeping well, exercising regularly and being optimistic will ensure that your body has the energy it needs to overcome resistance and bounce back when badly hit.
Generally nothing last forever. And when things get to the worst, they can only get better. Covid-19 lockdowns and other challenges will never least forever.
Mr Kiunga is a business trainer and the author of ‘The Art of Entrepreneurship: Strategies to Succeed in a Competitive Market’
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