2020 hasn’t quite steamed ahead like we all had planned. It’s fair to say that the last 8 weeks have been a very trying time for many of us. I am going to be so relieved when the dreaded word ‘Covid’ is a thing of the past and we no longer live in a state of fear, worry, skepticism, or frustration. In the meantime we can reflect and learn something from this time…
Personally I was a bit shocked at how I reacted to it all because I’ve always considered myself to be a “coper”. But like others I hit many peaks and a few troughs over lockdown and still sometimes struggle to return to ‘normal’ routines. There were days I felt paralyzed by it all, especially making decisions which required motivation and energy. Maybe it’s decision fatigue (which is a real thing, believe me!).
Despite a few ‘paralyzed days’ overall I would gravitate towards tasks or actions that would support my own and my family’s wellness. By all means, I’ve had to work on this, but living ‘well’ has become ingrained in my psyche, and also my family’s. Actions could be sinking into the spa to meditate away from the noise, or heading off for a brisk walk, scooter or run in search of that endorphin hit, or preparing vegetable laden meals to nourish the body, even baking a delicious cake to enjoy with the kids for some pleasure. Over time, the more these actions are put into play, the more they are just part of our everyday functioning.
So the message here is to choose an action; make it non-negotiable and do it regularly, whether that is daily or several times a week. You could start with 1-3 non-negotiable habits to nurture. Mine are 1) daily creative time (I’m partial to a cryptic crossword) 2) glass of water on waking and with each meal/snack 3) daily time outdoors to move 10-60mins.
The other thing I noticed is that your environments and the people who surround you are huge influencers on whether you adopt these wellness habits or rituals. The norm in our household is that we do eat well most of the time, but we enjoy some pleasure food daily too, we do move everyday in some way or form, we do nurture time out to chill, we make use of the sunshine, we problem solve when it’s raining, we tick things off for self achievement. If someone in the family is struggling with those actions, we rally around and encourage them, persuade and focus on how good they will feel afterwards.
Do you have cheerleaders in your environments? Maybe it’s time to look for them? If the person closest to you is not a cheerleader it can become very hard to stay motivated and consistent. I hear this all the time with clients and by all means I’m not saying leave them, but counterbalance their neutral or negative role with positive support elsewhere. Health and wellness professionals are a good start.
Finally…we are the sum of what we do most of the time. Living ‘well’ is about consistency. Today I encourage you to identify one thing that you would benefit from if you did it consistently well.
For me; that is consistently drinking water to enhance my energy levels and focus during the day. So I’ll leave you to ponder and I’m off to fill up my glass…
