How Are You Navigating Life At The Moment?
Hello to everyone in this beautiful community.
How are you going?
We are all dealing with so many unknowns.
So much of our life feels like it's out of our control.
That’s not something we are used to experiencing.
Many of us have our lives planned down to the hour or sometimes even to the minute.
But there is still much we can do to take positive steps, even in these uncertain times.
First of all, we need to acknowledge that it’s tough.
We can feel a sense of grief that life isn’t like it used to be and may not be for a while.
And change is hard.
Our brains like a sense of routine, doing the same things over and over builds neural pathways and makes us feel safe.
So how can we bring some sense of routine to this new way of life?
The answer is we need to schedule in those moments of meaning.
Usually, we have times during the day when we have positive interactions and connections with people.
It might be with friends, family or work colleagues or even with the barista where you get your morning coffee.
Now we need to deliberately plan for these moments to happen.
We thrive on connection and feeling wanted.
So right now, we need to connect in different ways.
My father in law is a very healthy and engaged 90 year old who we visit most weekends in his retirement community.
We can’t do that at the moment, but we wanted to make sure the connection we have with him is as strong as ever.
So we made a deal that we would video chat with him every night when my husband, the kids and I are having dinner.
We can talk and laugh with him and share our days, just like we would if he was sitting at the table with us.
This is a habit that we will continue once our lives go back to ‘normal’.
Another girlfriend has set up a Facebook group called the Quarantine Queue where people get together online sharing recipes, doing virtual quizzes and trivia or virtual meditations you can take part in.
It doesn’t matter how you connect but connection is the key.
I am not a gym-junkie but for me, being able to keep the connection with the women that I train with has been really important.
We know how crucial keeping physically active is for our mental health.
So being able to see my trainer Nina doing her classes online (with her tribe) means we can connect even if we are not in the same room.
The power of shared experience is what will help us not just to get through this period of uncertainty but even to thrive.
So think about the new ways that you can connect everyday, whether it’s picking up the phone or organising to FaceTime someone you haven’t seen for a while.
And if you become overwhelmed with thinking about the future, bring yourself back into the present.
An effective way to do that is simply by practising some breathing exercises, bringing your awareness to what’s around you.
I like some of the free meditation and breathing apps like Calm and Breathe2Relax.
One day you will look back on this time in your life and you will be proud that you kept going, that you didn’t give up.
You are all so much stronger than you might think.
So keep going and know that you have got this nailed.
We are all in this together.
Can you relate?
Tell me what’s helping you to get through. :)
Sophie Scott