In our last article we talked about the power of visualisation and acquiring your goals.
Throughout the last few months, this might have been tested due to the global pandemic and we might have had to totally redirect our vision.
For some it has been completely life changing, from losing people who are close to them, losing their businesses and some a loss of identity through being in lockdown. For others it might have been a time to realign and readjust their life, time to slow down and re asses where they are.
Here in wales, even before Covid-19 arrived and prior to lockdown, we had severe flooding in parts of the country which has had an added (In some cases lifechanging) effect. However, some people’s businesses have boosted as a result.
The pandemic has hit us on a global scale that is for sure, but people’s levels of feelings towards this will be very different and it would be wrong to assume we are all feeling the same. It was described to me last week from a dear friend as:
“We are all in the same sea, but we are all in our own boats”
I found this to be a very strong and powerful statement, as some people might be chilling out on their yachts and enjoying the quiet time, some might be holding the raft together by a shoestring, some might have pulled their boats together and others might be just be learning to sail.
Wherever you are at the moment, it is a good time to really re-adjust the sails and assess.
For me, I have been very fortunate that my work has not stopped, in fact it has only become more prevalent.
Many people recently, have turned to a new way of thinking and now want to learn these vital tools. They have realised that they are in control of their own mind and that the tips and tools really do work, in turn breaking the stigma that it is a “fluffy” way to live.
I’ve had more and more men and women from various industries such as: military, sports and corporate, ask for support with developing these tools, as they have realised that it can be a very strategic way of thinking, which enables them to live a much more productive life. Many have stated they wished they had learnt the tools sooner.
Even with all these tools that I have learnt over the years, I too did have to manage my emotions in those first couple of weeks in lockdown, which was ok. I ‘analysed’ what was going on, ‘recognised’ what I needed and ‘energised’ my change. By doing this it enabled me to be strong, focused and clear throughout lockdown.
It has most certainly been a busy time of passing these powerful nuggets of knowledge to individuals, teams, and small groups of people. It has been an absolute honour to watch some of these individuals manage themselves in such a productive manner as a result. I have kept a few of them accountable on a daily basis and some weekly. Even listened to how they have too passed these tools to others as a result of their own change.
I too have professionals that I draw in on and I now know which one I need to turn to from time to time, as I also understand the power to check in and re balance. I can do this myself but it’s productive for me to also have a confidential place to support with my own personal growth, because this journey never ends. We learn new things about ourselves each and every day and what we do with our knowledge, is important towards our growth.
A good tip to support with growth is an end of day debrief with yourself, sit quietly and ask: what have been my learnings today? what have I learnt about me today? And what will I take with me into the future element of myself and what will I leave behind? How did I show up today? What can I improve on?
Remember when we went into lock down we didn’t know what was going to happen, but you adapted and managed it. This will be the same on the return to work, be patient with yourself and others, support yourself by regularly checking in.
If we can begin to really think about our language going into the recovery period, notice what emotions are triggering when you speak, take notice of the language you use whilst manoeuvring into this stage. It will be very different for each and every one of us, but the common denominator in all of us is our emotions and thoughts, some will manoeuvre through it seamlessly and others will struggle as they allow their emotions and thoughts take over.
This is an opportunity to really learn about “you” learn how you manage different events and remember:
“ you are in control of your mind, your mind doesn’t control you”
If we can start to really spend time on how we reacted to the initial lockdown, think about how you dealt with the first few weeks? Write the emotions and feelings out either day by day or week by week and really break it down. We will naturally have gone through the change curve in some shape or form.
Some might have gone straight into adapting to the new situation, some might still be in the first stages of shock, denial and frustration. Wherever we are at, it’s important that we respect where we are and make sure we know what we want. This will help us to move swifter through to recovery and integration stage.
Some might have gone through various emotions several times in one day and that’s ok, by spending the time understanding how you react to these situations will support you to acknowledge it and to know what you need throughout ‘your’ next stage.
What is true: we have adapted over these last few weeks and we will adapt again, but it’s up to you as an individual to how you will approach this next phase, one thing for sure, is that you can control your emotions and thoughts, we are not taught this, we have to learn it.
Some people are naturally gifted and have the ability to self -regulate swiftly and others have had to learn these techniques, often as a result of their own circumstances e.g going through their own grief, trauma or life’s curve balls.
If we can begin to learn these vital tools early on, you will begin to learn how to accept emotions, unpick them as we go along and then reframe them, this will ease up on so many health problems, relationships issues, work stresses and most certainly ease up the NHS.
For example :
A 2007 study Harvard scientists studied the effects of emotional vitality which was defined as a sense of positive energy an ability to regulate emotions and behaviour and a feeling of engagement in life. The US study involved 6265 volunteers and they found that those who had high levels of emotional vitality when 19% less likely to develop coronary heart disease than those with lower levels attitude can be protective or destructive towards health
We have more and more scientifically proven statistics on how those thoughts and our emotions impact our health.
Now more than ever we really need to think about this and start bringing this into a natural way of thinking because if we don’t, we will have a very different pandemic on our hands.
Become strategic with your thoughts, start to control them and begin to control the emotional reaction attached to them.
We need to first start with pointing the finger back at ourselves and taking full responsibility over every element of our lives and this is where true accountability comes from. Once we can work at this level, it supports us to rationalise and re balance our emotional state.
What do I need to support me going through this next phase? Do I need to be: driven, strategic, proactive, empowered, focused, calm, in control.
We have talked about this in previous articles, be clear on how you want to show up. Take another look at article 4 for other tools and tips.
Look inside as that’s where you will find the answer, trust in yourself, and answer your own questions, become your own coach.
Because:
The moment you take responsibility for everything in your life, is the moment you can change anything in your life.- Hal Elrod
I am looking forward to a time that Mental health has become normalised like physical health and healthy eating. Where people are educated from a young age about the brain functions and how to understand oneself on a deep-rooted level. Society will be vastly improved and our NHS won’t be burdened to the health issues that are related to stress.
Love always
TJ xx
