The pandemic has left many thinking they can no longer plan for or control life, with feelings of being helpless or powerless to forces beyond our control. There has been a surge in fear and worry thoughts about health, mortality, loved ones and finances, and, as a consequence of the global trauma-inducing event, there has also been an increase in those suffering from anxiety and depression. In a world that has become even more uncertain, what can we do and how can we respond when so many fundamental aspects of our lives have been affected?
Establish Routine Joy and Happiness: Some things have changed, some remain the same, and some are the same, but different. When we returned from our different levels of confinement, to resume our daily routine, and it was the same as it was before, this helped to restore feelings of security and eased some anxiety; it was one step towards balance restoration. When we returned to our daily routine, but it was not all the same; if certain elements of joy and pleasure have still not yet been re-established, such as: returning to work, but not yet able to meet up on Friday as a group of twenty in the bar, or children returning to lessons in the classroom, but not yet able to mix with friends in break times, and parents dropping kids off at school, but not yet able to spark up conversations with other parents outside the school gates; these pleasure related losses that have not yet been re-established, can prevent a person from feeling that sense of balance begin to return. This is because re-establishing apparent routine alone is not enough to help restore balance, what is needed is those elements of pleasure within the routine. By recognising this and identifying the losses, it becomes possible to consider where pleasure can be included within the current reality, to enable new feelings of joy and happiness to grow. Re-Vision: The pandemic has forced change upon many, and with this comes the opportunity, or necessity, to re-vision our personal and professional lives. This is not an act of giving in, it is a choice to adapt and change because, in reality, this is the only healthy option. When we open our minds to wonderment and ask: ‘what is possible?’, and indeed, ‘what could become something even better than I imagined in the pre-pandemic reality?’, it is possible to awaken new possibilities and potential. To help you reassess where you are heading and what you most want to focus on now, identifying your priority values is key. FREE WORKSHEET: Please download your free values worksheet to help you identify what really matters to you the most right now in the different areas of your life. Reclaim Your Power: Being forced into home confinement, understandably created feelings of being trapped, powerless, helpless, scared, worried, angry, and stressed, and for some, worrying it could happen again fuels the residual energies of that confinement. When things have happened to us that have caused harm, impacted fundamental human rights, basic needs, and the factors that help us maintain well-being, it can feel that power has been stripped from us. We can reclaim our power by processing what has happened: acknowledging the feelings and emotions we have about what happened; getting angry, acknowledging anxiety, accepting loss, even the most painful loss, such as losing loved ones, and then, from a place of accepting what we feel, make a clear decision about what we are going to do next. When we make a choice about what we want, and take action in the name of what we want, we demonstrate that, although we may have been affected by the trauma we have been through, we have not been victimised, limited, restrained, or diminished. And, when we make these choices in alignment with our most important values, and those values are heart-centered, then we move forward with the power of love awakened from within, often with even greater ferocity than before, to keep growing our lives. Ask yourself, ‘how do you want your love to move your world?’ When you affirm this, own this, and act upon it, with all the love in your heart, you reclaim your power to be and create as you choose in this world. Do this with love, and you emerge from the darkness, the trauma, and the tragedy with the power to affect great and positive change in your life and the lives of others.
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May 2023
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