Last March the words quarantine, social distancing, and self-isolation had little to no meaning. Kortney Peagram, Ph.D., a professor and alumna at The Chicago School, was in the thick of building her social enterprise Bulldog Solution and had just worked with two students from The Chicago School to publish her first book, Dear Bully.
So much can change so quickly.
Five months later in August, Dr. Peagram shut down Bulldog. While a painful choice, it was also a deliberate decision.
It’s a tale facing millions as COVID-19 shuttered businesses, changed life as we know it, and shook the economy. Dr. Peagram has nothing but sage words to share after losing so much.
“I think that work is a big part of our identity. So closing down Bulldog, I really came to terms. I’m not closing down who I am,” Dr. Peagram says. “I’m still an educational consultant. I’m still an expert when it comes to emotions. That is still part of me. The only thing that is not is the Bulldog part.”
The adjunct professor has pivoted to focusing solely on her consulting practice, Peagram Consulting. Instead of doing the brunt of all the work—like she was with Bulldog—she can now be the expert and help others try new things, grounded by 15 years in the field, accumulated hours, and stories from her time working in different schools and organizations.
It doesn’t mean this pivot has come without challenges—but she has used this time to focus on her life, trying some of her own tried-and-true practices on herself.
“I spent a lot of time working through my own anxiety so that I could train on it, so I can understand what is driving me. Uncertainty is such a huge factor that drives anxiety and fear,” Dr. Peagram says. “There’s a real difference between perceived fear and real fear. Instead of thinking of the worst-case scenario for everything that happens, play it out as a best-case scenario. These are simple things to change your mindset because typically the perceived fear won’t happen.”
This practice helps Dr. Peagram keep things in perspective.
“What’s the worst thing that can happen? For me, it was Bulldog shutting down. And it did, and it wasn’t the worst thing,” she explains. “In these times, for parents, educators, and professionals, understanding the emotions that come up in uncertainty and how to process them to reduce your anxiety is key to persevering. Because a bunch of anxious people can’t solve anything.”
While her mission for years was to eradicate bullying, she discovered she can do that in different ways. Bulldog was a vehicle, but she herself is one as well. Her mission now is to educate people on the power of emotion and how it drives and fuels success and behavior.
In addition to consulting educators and companies, Dr. Peagram is working on her second book, The Emotional Dictionary. While Dear Bully was geared toward children, this project focuses on adults and expanding their emotional vocabulary to help them start processing their feelings.
The world has changed, her life has changed, but one thing that hasn’t is her need to change what no longer or never really worked. It’s why she sees the trainings she does with Peagram Consulting as so important. By helping professionals help themselves, they can in turn help their families. This takes on added meaning with COVID-19 planting kids at home all day with adults. It’s helped her in her professional life and her personal life as a mom to an at-home 7-year-old. The change that has come in 2020 doesn’t have to be viewed as a bad thing—more so, it is hopeful.
“Change won’t happen without hope,” Dr. Peagram says. “Change happens when you’re challenged. A lot of things are changing because they aren’t working. We should all take this as a collective learning opportunity.”
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