Hinchcliffe's Indy 500 auto crash leaving the driver with near-fatal injuries.
How do you rebuild your life after a severe life upheaval? Many people are suffering the effects on how the coronavirus pandemic has impacted their careers and businesses. Thomas, 60, called to say that his business had suffered too many losses during the shutdown, and he has had to close it permanently. Mary Ann, 58, needed resume writing help because she had been an executive inside a large retail establishment. The company is struggling to stay afloat. To do that, they first cut bonuses, froze promotions, stopped hiring, and finally started laying people off. Unfortunately, she lost her job. Most of the people that I’m talking to are scared about the future. People are so worried that their life is now ruined, and it will never improve because they can’t see beyond the pandemic. Realizing that people need a healthy dose of hope and resilience, I spoke to Indy race car driver James Hinchcliffe who overcame a near-fatal accident in 2015 while practicing for the Indianapolis 500 race car competition.
Hinchcliffe suffered a puncture to the left upper thigh reaching the pelvic area, and the bleeding from a damaged artery was heavy. Immediate surgery was required. His situation was touch and go. When he woke up in the hospital ICU, the first question he asked was, “where am I? what happened? Where’s my family? When can I get back in the car and start racing again? And so as soon as I was told I would get better, that I would be able to drive again, I was like ‘Yeah, alright.’ Mentally I was already back in the car, and getting there, that was all I was focused on,” Hinchcliffe stated.
He went through months of recovery but race again he did. He qualified for the Indy 500 in first place and would finish in 11th place in the 2016 race. “I still have more to achieve,” he says. We talked about people like my clients losing their business or their jobs. He understood what it’s like to look hardship in the face having overcome this horrible accident to return to the career he loved. Hinchcliffe offered some essential tips that can help anyone overcome life’s more serious challenges.
“Resilience is something you have to have. To overcome life’s problems, you have to be able to apply this skill. After my accident, I never thought about quitting. I knew I was born to race, and only a few people in the world get to do what I do at my level. So, I focused on how can I get back in that car and run in the Indy 500 again. I did all the rehab and knew I would be able to one day be back racing again.”
When you face a tough situation, here is what Hinchcliffe recommends you do. He says these tips got him to the top of motor sports, and these mindset tricks really help.
· Set goals you are passionate about. You have to believe in your goals. I have a burning desire to achieve any goal I set. For me, I knew I would get back in the car. Your mindset is such a massive part of your success. When facing adversity, you need to change your thinking and see yourself reaching that end goal.
· Think outside the box. There is a solution to every problem. It may not be the best solution that you want, but there is always a solution if you look for it. When you are trying to solve a problem, you need to challenge yourself to search for an answer. Be creative to find a solution that will help you move forward. Understand that your option may not be what you want, but it should get your closer to reaching your goal.
· No negative thinking allowed. When you face severe adversity like I did, waking up in ICU, and afterward, as I began the challenges to recover, I just kept telling myself, “it could have been worse.” I don’t want to take away from anybody’s unfortunate situation. Many awful things can happen to you, but for me, I focused on the fact that I would recover. I saw a silver lining. I told myself, “I have my family, I will recover, and I will race again one day.”
· Be grateful but focused. Hinchcliffe says he’s very thankful to have the rare opportunity to race. As soon as he was told, “You’ll get better, you’ll be allowed to try driving again,” I was like, “Yeah, alright.” Mentally I was already back in the car, that’s all I was focused on. You never know when it’s going to be your last race. It might be an accident, or it might be a lack of sponsors that takes you out. I don’t take anything for granted. And I learned that lesson when I was recovering from my injuries. It took me two months before I could put on a pair of socks without being assisted. Now every day, when I put on a pair of socks, I’m grateful that I can do it for myself and that I have moved on in my life, and I’m reaching for my goals.
Hinchcliffe is part of a speaking conference offered by Jobvite (www.jobvite.com) that launched June 16th called The Summer to Evolve program series. It’s 12 weeks of free programming designed to help recruiters and talent acquisition professionals improve their skills, tactics, and strategies.
