Anyone else ready to freak out? I haven’t left my neighborhood since March 12th, the weather’s been crappy these last few days and the news…well, really flipping depressing, combined with all of the normal stressful things that actually feel really intense right now – I’ve been teetering on the verge. DMX – Gonna Make Me Lose My Mind – feels like my theme song right now.
So, I’ve been really settling into what I know to be true – when life feels especially chaotic, there are two important things to focus on – bringing it back to the basics and focusing forward.
This is “how” you balance and thrive…and honestly, not completely lose your Sh!t (although you may have moments of that too). It’s at the very core of what I teach and how I personally deal with life’s challenging times.
It’s the balance between allowing yourself to feel how you feel while at the same time not getting stuck there. It’s about seeing the disappointment, grieving the loss, feeling the fear – all of those things and at the same time, finding your way forward.
It’s an active process of acceptance and action, of finding peace with while also hoping for, it’s what I learned through 7 years of unexplained infertility and it’s what I’m being reminded to lean into right now.
It’s the framework that I keep coming back to and one that can be helpful to you too.
So, pop on your theme song for this week and keep on reading so that you too can find your way to balance and thrive during this stressful time.
1. Bring it back to the basics and really focus on good quality self-care. Quality self care helps you to become the calm within the storm. Exactly what each of us needs right now.
To boost up the quality of your self care, simply ask yourself how do I want to feel right now and what action can I take to feel that way?
The great news is, the smaller the action the better. Grand gestures are not required for quality self-care. Listed below are the 7 self-care basics along with an example of how you can align your self-care with how you most want to feel. Give it a try to see how you can become the calm within the storm!
If for example you want to feel calm, you could….
- Food – enjoy a berries and spinach smoothie for lunch.
- Water – infuse it with cucumber, mint and food grade lavender.
- Rest – diffuse some lavender as you sit in the sun to read.
- Movement – go for a quiet, distraction free walk in nature.
- Connection – meditate, journal, prayer, focus on a deeper personal and/or spiritual connection.
- Laughter – cozy up on the couch with a blanket and hot tea to enjoy one of your favorite classic rom coms, like When Harry Met Sally (which is streaming on Hulu).
- Gratitude – write down at least 3 ways that calm is naturally occurring in your life – the sounds of spring, purring cat on your lap, enjoying the free 21 day Oprah & Deepak meditation, etc.
2. Dig in, reflect and create a vision forward. Challenging times can be the best of teachers because you’re often confronted with some really important life lessons. It’s like all of the nonsense distractions get stripped away and you’re called to hone in on what you want your life to be going forward.
When you do this, you create a positive mental framework to navigate the stormy waters you’re in. It helps you to create movement and to direct your action. And most importantly, it helps you to feel hopeful and optimistic about the future.
Meditating, journaling, reading and prayer can help you to really tune into this process of self-discovery. It’s also exactly what my book Happiness Happens is for and the reason I’ve opened up enrollment for group coaching via the Happiness Happens Masterclass.
If you’d like support and guidance as you take a step back to get clear about what’s important to you, what you want your life to be going forward and to step into the process of creating the change you’ve been craving for awhile now, please click this link to learn more about how the Happiness Happens Masterclass can help.
For each paid enrollment, I am offering one paid in full scholarship – I know so many of you have been financially impacted by COVID-19 and I’d like to make the masterclass available to everyone who is interested. Because of this, I’ve extended the enrollment period until Monday April 6th.
If you’re ready to take this forced point of change and use it to fuel you forward, then click this link to sign up now.
I’d love for you to join me!
Emily