Hi guys! Welcome to the 9th episode of the Wildly Successful Lifestyle podcast!
I want to take a minute and just Thank you, thank you for letting me join you in your car while you drive or maybe you’re cleaning your space, or while you are having coffee…whatever you are doing it is truly my privilege to be able to join you for this little bit of time. I’m a connector and being able to connect with you through this podcast brings me so much joy and for that I thank you.
This is one of my favorite episodes, not only for the fun stories but because at the end I am going to give you 5 things that you can do right now to There is a quote that has been on my mind today by Wayne Dyer, “Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change” I love this quote so much because it holds true for pretty much anything we do in life.
Quick story for you. I have a very good friend that was engaged to be married. He had bought a beautiful ring for his fiancé and things seemed to be really good. The relationship however turned south and she moved out of their home they shared together and called off the wedding. She also refused to give back the ring that he had spent so much on and took time to pick out for her. My friend had a life coach at the time and decided to talk to him about the struggle he was having because it really bothered him that she had left him and then on top of it kept the ring. A very difficult situation to say the least. His life coach asked him a question. He said , do you honestly think you have a chance of getting that ring back? And he said No I don’t. So the coach said something to him that changed his life. He said ok, then how would it make you feel if instead of being angry about the ring, you thought of it as a gift to her and let it go? My friend said well that would change everything and it did. My point here in telling that story is because nothing about the situation changed except for his thoughts.
What in your life right now could be better just by changing your thoughts?
I was really hoping that by now we would be able to talk about other things and the Coronavirus would be able to be put behind us. but it seems that is not the case, it seems that we are in for the long haul and listen if you are listening to this after this is all over….keep listening because it is just as applicable to any major disruption in our life and we are always going to have them.
So let’s kind of talk through the timeline of thoughts and feelings because it seems to me that we are probably all feeling very similar things. Now of course there are some that definitely have it worse than others, if you have lost your job, if you have the virus, if someone you love has the virus. There is always going to be someone that has it worse, but at the same time there will always be someone that has it better. My thoughts go out to you no matter what you are going through.
So the first week at home we were all sort of like ok, we can do this no big deal. It felt almost like a snow day! We were organizing and spring cleaning!
The second week came along and we were all organized so we were deciding how we were going to eat, work out and also spend much more time with the family. In it together feeling.
Now the third week we find out that we have another month and I am hearing from people that it’s weighing on them. Many know someone that is sick, others know people that are losing their jobs. Reality has set in that this is bad and we are hearing that it is going to get worse.
How do we handle this week and how do we manage our thoughts about this? The key here is to MANAGE your thoughts.
How many of us, me included, have felt this way….. And remember that it is ok and normal to feel these things but I am suggesting that A. Don’t keep them in and B. Find ways to channel what you are feeling into something good. Remember if you change the way you look at things the things you look at change.
So let’s talk through some of these feelings you might be having.
Maybe you are Feeling sad because you’re missing the connection we all crave? You still have that connection! Pick up the phone and call someone. Get on ZOOM and have a big group conversation! My older sister spends a lot of time at home alone and loves to play virtual games….I don’t do that a lot but you know what? We played battleship last night and I loved it and felt so connected to her. What can you do to feel connected to someone special?
How about Feeling out of sorts because the gym was your sanity and the way to let out your frustration? Join a virtual yoga class and encourage your friends to join with you so you all do it together! Get the fitness app FITBOD and let it put free workouts together for you and challenge your friends or family to do the same and do it together! My little sister actually inspired me to do that with her. I am super stoked because we may be a little competitive with each other BUT in a good way!!!!
Possibly you are Feeling as if you are going to lose your mind with your spouse and children being around 24/7 and not sure you can handle 30 more days of it?…. Put a podcast on and go for a walk, put your favorite playlist on and go for a run, Put together scavenger hunts for the kids that will keep them busy for an hour and go soak in a hot bath. Find a positive book and lock yourself in a room for one hour. MAKE THE TIME TO CARE FOR YOURSELF
How about? Have you been pacing the house thinking that you are losing your mind: Recognize that being quarantined is not going to be forever and these pacing times are actually good breaks from your work and you are doing them intentionally. It’s actually been proven that you are more effective if you take these little breaks!
What if you recognize you may be Drinking too much which causes the next day to be even worse. OK, now this is a tough one because sooooooooooo many buffers from all the thoughts by drinking. My fear is that you pick up a new habit of it and it will be hard to stop. Can you possibly replace it with a cup of tea? Listen before you roll your eyes just realize you are using it to comfort yourself and HOT TEA is super comforting. Think about your coffee in the morning. It is the same idea for your tea. Just try it. Your future self (meaning the you in the morning will thank you)
Along the same lines of thought….Eating too much so that your moods and energy level fluctuate with the wind (Decide right now to put everything you eat into a food journal like my fitness pal because you are not going to believe the amount of sugar that health bar has in it or the amount of carbs you are consuming, Trust me it’s eye opening and helps you. Again your future you will thank you. Summer is right around the corner and right now is the time to be thinking about that body in a bathing suit.
Finally, Fear and uncertainty are running rampant right now and so many of us are paralyzed by the fear of the unknown.
So let’s talk about What do we know?
We know our country has survived worse pandemics and we will survive this one too
We know that you don’t get the rainbow without the rain….good things will come from this storm
We know that if we are all honest, we kind of needed a break.
We know that we cannot control anything but our own thoughts and our own household.
This brings me to another quote that is on my mind today. This one is by C. S. Lewis and I heard it on a podcast by Russel Brunson this morning. It is long so I am only going to read the last part:
CS Lewis said this in the middle of World war 2 in another scary time for the world. He says: ‘‘This is the first point to be made…and the first action to be taken is to pull ourselves together. If we are all going to be destroyed by an atomic bomb, let that bomb when it comes find us doing sensible and human things…praying, working , teaching, reading, listening to music, bathing childre, playing tennis, chatting to our friends over a pint and a game of darts not huddled together like frightened sheep and thinking about bombs. They break our bodies but they need not dominate our minds’’. Such a powerful quote and so relevant even over 70 years later….These feelings we are feeling are nothing new…..
Let’s make a decision right now that we are going to come out of this on the other side better in some way. Let’s make a decision that we are going to be the one in our family or the one in our friend group that turns the conversation back to positive. Let’s make a decision that we are going to not only manage our physical strength but also our mental strength. This is not going to take our ability to walk. What we need is to make a decision. We all need to make a decision right now. Let’s make a decision That we are bigger than this, we are stronger than this, and like CS Lewis said we are NOT going to let this dominate our minds.
SO decide to have a set point for what you are and what you aren’t going to do right now.
- Decide how much time you devote to the news and then turn it off
- Decide to start your day journaling 10 things you are grateful for. (rewiring brain)
- Decide today that you will make 1 hour each day of time just for yourself with something positive—-podcast, music, book
- Decide that you manage your moods by eating for energy and getting some sort of exercise each day
- Decide on one thing each day that you can and will change by changing your thoughts about it
Ok guys I hope you enjoyed this episode, if you did would you please share it with your friends and also leave a 5 star rating that goes a long way I promise! I salute you for your continued determination during this trying time to continue pursuing and living your wildly successful lifestyle. We can do this! Love you all and my thoughts are with each one of you. I will talk to you in a couple days…..
