I make lists, lists on lists and then some. I am a planner.
When we got hit with round two of COVID this year in 2022 I had envisioned and planned how quarantine would go.
I originally thought my Quarentine will look like this:
- Usual wake up (4:00am)
- Meditate
- EFT/Tapping
- Warm water with lemon
- Work
- Read
- Clean and organize the whole house
- Steam clean all the carpets
- Get caught up on laundry
- Work
- Workout
What It ended up looking like:
- Woke up an hour later
- Work
- Listen to podcasts
- Scroll through social media
- Watched the Kardashians
- Work
( I can't taste so warm water with lemons went out the window)
- Went down a TikTok rabbit hole watching dances
- Did laundry and folded clothes
- Cleaned
- Ran my oldest to her activities and school
- Had a lot of creativity and did some writing.
- Ordered groceries from Instacart and food from Uber Eats A LOT
I think these past 2 years should tell us things don't always go according to our plan. So what do you do now?
Accept what you can and cannot control. In my most recent case, I didn't realize I would feel so lousy and sick and actually need to try and rest.
Learn to adapt. Adaptation is key when things don't go according to your plan.
Letting go of control takes a lot less energy and effort than trying to control everything. I am not saying stop making lists and plans but when we are more flexible and able to adjust better we don't get so attached to an outcome and are more adaptable. This can help towards personal growth.
We grow when we are able to realize we are no longer able to control every single thing in our lives. You are able to get more in touch and be present. We can only live in the present. I thought I wouldn't feel so sick but I did and I had to listen to what I needed.
We can use this in all areas of our lives on how to stay positive and adjust when things don't go as what we planned.
Breath Work. Practicing breathing exercises helps regulate your nervous system and calms you.
Get Grounded. Practice meditation or go outside barefoot and let your feet sink into the earth.
Hydrate. Always keep yourself hydrated
Practice Gratitude. Focus on the things that are going right and celebrate your wins.
Review Your Goals and Plans. What is one thing you can do right now? Identify what you can cross of your list now and go for it.
Rest and Reset. Sometimes you really need to rest, then you can reset and make that list again : )
EDIT: Since writing this 3 weeks ago, I ended up getting worse. Last weekend I was diagnosed with post COVID pleurisy and pneumonia.
My first thought that went through my mind was, I don't have time for this. That was my honest first thought! I. Don't. Have. Time. For. This.
The past few days I continued to get worse and probably the worst I have ever felt, but I continued to go about my daily tasks as normal ( I do not have COVID any longer so out of quarentine). I sat in my car one morning after dropping the kids off from school crying that I felt so sick, so tired, my ribs and body ached. I had to sit with this and ask myself why am I not able to rest? Why do I feel like I have to do it all and never ask for help or if I do ask for help why can't I enforce my boundaries and stick to it. I scheduled a Reiki session with my yoga mentor, got back to meditating, and really tuned in to resting and reseting. My yoga mentor asked the same things, she said why do you think you don't deserve to rest and relax? She said do you think you need approval and everyone to like you so you have to keep doing everything? That hit home. I also think it is an anxiety thing for me and I have to feel in control so I do everything myself.
The quote, If you do not make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness really sunk in.
I had to stop doing everything and try to rest more. Looking within there is a reason some of us try to do it all and people please. We want everyone to like us and feel like we are doing something. But we have to first start with liking ourselves and taking care of ourselves.
How will you rest and take care of yourself this week?
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