Jacinda Ardern

I can’t even begin to imagine what it’s like to lead a nation, to make decisions on which the lives of tens of thousands, or millions, of other people depend. If you get things wrong, or delay deciding, they could die. You’d have to make hundreds of daily decisions that affect the livelihoods of your entire country. You’d have to act quickly, without having any real certainty your decisions will achieve what you hope.

For a masterclass in crisis leadership, look no further than Jacinda Ardern, Prime Minister of New Zealand. They have had the ‘most decisive and strongest lockdown in the world’ and it’s the only Western country that’s got an ‘elimination goal’ for COVID-19.

Stoicism

From AD166 to around AD180, Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius Antoninus, faced one of the worst plagues in European history. The Antonine Plague, named after him, was probably caused by a strain of the smallpox virus. It’s estimated to have killed up to 5 million people, possibly including Marcus himself.

Repeated outbreaks of the virus occurred throughout the known world. Roman historians describe entire towns and villages being depopulated and going to ruin. Rome itself was particularly badly affected, carts leaving the city each day piled high with dead bodies.

In the middle of this plague, Marcus wrote a book, The Meditations, which records the moral and psychological advice he gave himself at this time. He frequently applies Stoic philosophy to the challenges of coping with pain, illness, anxiety and loss. It’s no stretch of the imagination to view The Meditations as a manual for developing precisely the mental resilience skills required to cope with a pandemic.

First of all, because Stoics believe that our true good resides in our own character and actions, they would frequently remind themselves to distinguish between what’s “up to us” and what isn’t.

HOW TO GET WHAT YOU WANT FROM LIFE

Whether it’s weight you want to lose, a deal you want to land, or a marathon you want to run…. or pretty much anything you have your heart set on, then there here are some tips on getting where you want to be.