Our internet went out Tuesday. Annoying.

I was a bit peeved by the sounds of the leaf blowers and weedwackers from the lawn care service about the same time. Turns out, the two were related. The lawn dudes whacked the cable wire. Not sweet.

Wednesday while waiting for the tech to come in that four hour plus maybe two more so you don’t get mad at us when we’re late window, I CRANKED out some work. Pen and paper, baby. No internet to distract me. I had the thought…I mean do I even NEED the internet?

The tech came. He fixed. He said he idiot proofed it. He left.

Thursday, I’m back to flailing away, prepping for my workshop. I start getting this mildly unnerving security message that was like, THIS SITE IS NOT SECURE YOU MIGHT BE GETTING HACKED THERE IS A LARGE CHANCE SOMEONE IS STEALING ALL OF YOUR PRIVATE INFORMATION AND WILL USE IT FOR NO GOOD.

The “this site is not secure” part was true. The rest might have been a bit of hyperbole in my mind but you know I was prepping for the workshop. I had client work. I had 343 other things I needed to get done yesterday. So that security warning tripped my amygdala and once that baby is set off, we’re off to the races of thoughts and catastrophizing and mildly freaking out.

And yes, as it would turn out, I do need the internet.

I Googled what it meant and tried to do the things to fix it but when I’m tech-triggered tutorials do not compute so I did what I have learned to do in these situations, I texted one of my CVORs: my Chief Voice of Reasons.

Yesterday’s lucky winner? My productivity coach turned friend Jeff Gibbard. It was a “Listen I know you’re so much more than tech support but also I need you as text support because I’m getting mad security alerts and I’ve got a virtual workshop in two hours what does it mean and how do I make it stop?” quick fire.

He responded immediately.

He researched some steps to take.

He offered suggestions.

And then I saw it…the dreaded red light on the modem and realized we had bigger fish to fry: the internet was busted again.

While the problem was unsolvable by Jeff, knowing he was there, that he is tech savvy and has a super brain (no pun intended when you see his brand) that can figure things out in ways that my brain does not fathom, made him the first person I texted. It was even more than the tech knowledge.

I felt a spiral coming on and knew I didn’t have time to freak out. I needed a voice of reason. And he was that.

Jeff’s been in my life for approximately two years.

My OG CVOR has been in my life since ’88. My bestie from high school, Jill.

She knows me better than anyone. She gives it to me straight. Jill’s got opinions.(!!!!) She’s direct. She thinks differently than me. She’s got that beautiful combo of wanting the best for me and knows that sometimes that means telling me stuff I might not want to hear, but need to.

She gets me on track.

She KEEPS me on track.

She is my voice of reason when the thoughts are permeating my brain and when I am stuck.

Now, I will give myself a gold star for awareness. 🌟 I know when I’m spinning out. When I am ruminating. That’s the first key: awareness.

But what do you do when you are awayre but don’t know what to do with what you’ve got going on?

You call a CVOR.

They get you out of your head.

They (lovingly) smack you upside the head when needed.

They pick up the phone when you call.

They give it to you straight.

They calm you down.

Your internet is going to break. (I mean hopefully not twice in two days because come on man!) You’re going to have tough and tense times at work. You’re going to be asked to make hard decisions as a leader. You’re going to have high pressure moments. You’re going to spin out.

Who is your CVOR?

Who can you call to smack/calm/support you?

When you’re feeling the pressure, big situation or small, having a CVOR on speed dial is a way to get out of your head and back in the game.

Who is your CVOR? If you think about it, could you name one? If so, have you told them?

It takes a special sort of person and a trusted and vulnerable relationship. That’s rare and powerful. So if you’ve got one, let them know their new title.

Inform them that this is an unpaid (monetarily)position. 😅 The reward is gratitude, appreciation, and doing the same for them when they are in freak out mode.

If you’re a leader, you’re going to feel the pressure. If you’re a human, you’re going to feel the pressure. I highly recommend adding a CVOR to your team to help set you straight and get you on your way.