Hint #1: Now is not the time for overachieving.
We are well into the pandemic, the stay at home orders persist, and many people notice that their energy is drained more than usual. But, there is good news. Read on for a few simple yet important tips...
Here are 5 ideas for adapting, thriving, not just enduring, and using your emotional intelligence to pull you through to the light at the end of the tunnel.
Let’s get real and let go of high expectations. I am sure you’ve found, this is a monumental task both practically and emotionally, of working from home, or losing work, taking care of family and attempting to teach our children while handling all of the emotions and loss we are experiencing right now.
What is going to give for you? How can you lower the bar a bit, and allow for things to be good enough?
For your sanity, and for peace at home, just do the best you can. NO perfection needed right now.
Structure = sanity. My clients are all commenting on the need to create structure at home… getting dressed and maybe even showered, keeping some semblance of a bedtime schedule for younger kids, start and finish study/work routines, mealtimes, and time for daily exercise, are of course all good ways to create some structure.
Create a framework using what is most important to you and your family, not a rigid set of rules, just to give yourself a little bit of structure and predictability right now.
Self-awareness: The more you acknowledge and truly accept that there is stress, fear, worry, roller coaster moods or days of low energy and loneliness showing up for you, the better you’ll manage day to day, and in turn, success at work and home will increase.
Identify the physical or emotional affects of this pandemic and quarantine on you, and articulate this to someone you love and trust. This small, simple act of connection will help to calm an active nervous system.
Health and Wellness Maintenance: There is a good reason the flight attendant says put your oxygen mask on first, though I cringe every time.
Your self- care is urgent right now. It really is, don't wait until this is "over." This time of being home bound will pass, but for now, doing just 30 min./day of movement, noshing on nutritious food, and finding ways to connect often with those outside your household will go a long way.
Long term visioning based on values: Now is the perfect time, with the world slowed down, to reassess your most important values and vision for your future. When we know our own values, we have a guide for every life decision, when we don’t, it’s very easy to lose ourselves and the opportunity to create real happiness. For example, if you don’t value competition, and you work in a highly competitive sales environment, are you likely to be satisfied with your job? If you value connection and working with others, yet you work alone, will you be fulfilled? Once "normal" life restarts, how do you want to be in your life?
Here’s how to find your 3 values which create your compass:
Look back at your life and find the times you were the happiest, most satisfied and fulfilled. What contributed to those feelings?
In your personal and professional life, when were you most proud and why?
Based on the experiences you’ve come up with, look at a list of values ( google ), write down 10 that resonate with you.
Prioritize the top 3. This can be hard, but worthwhile.
My hope is that you find a piece of this newsletter that resonates with you, helps you to stay calm, centered, and well during these crazy times.
Take good care,
Ellie
Please feel free to forward this newsletter to others if it was useful for you. I will also post on my website at ellielanecoaching.com.
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A way I can help during this period of time:
If you know someone who is struggling, I am blocking out several weekly times for this next month to be available for 1/2 hr. strategy sessions, at no charge. This is not to start coaching or have a friendly chit chat, this is a highly focused meeting to support a person in moving forward.
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Coaching with Ellie: Contact me for a free introductory session. Call or email: 781-826-5826 coachellielane@gmail.com