Whenever there is a major event that occurs, there is usually a correlating response that manifests itself through fashion trends. Something that happens and it causes a vast majority to gravitate toward a certain look or style that feels appropriate for the times and I expected as much during the Covid Era, I just didn’t know what it was.
After 7 weeks back I can tell you that the value of simple haircut has increased exponentially and not because people are going crazy and “chopping it all off”, it is really just an attempt to feel comfortable and normal. It is as if all of my clients are quietly asking me to pick them up and put them back where they were before any of this started. Service after service I provide a safe and loving space for people to shed their quarantine manes and trade it for new, neat and sustainable styles…you know…just in case we shut down again.
There is no escaping it. It touches us all and in many more ways than people think. It doesn’t matter who you are, you are impacted. Just because you have money to pay your bills, food to eat and no one you know has dies doesn’t mean that you do not feel the stress of the times. I am blessed to have such woes as a vacation canceled or more time home with my baby, but my anchors are shaken loose.
My stability is in danger and though the ship is still afloat with all intact, these are some stormy seas and one is bound to become seasick from the tumultuous onslaught of the waves. I still know how to do everything I need to do to live my best life, I just don’t see how to bring it back around. Nothing seems to be working. Self-care, family time, work mode….it’s just all broke. Sure, I have paid off most of my credit cards and can look forward to the potential of becoming first-time home owners, but that only makes me want to live in the future instead of thriving in the now. Can one even thrive in the now???
I am not nailing it. It feels like swirling chaos in my mind most of the time. I am living with continual low lying levels of stress, producing streams of cortisol impairing my ability to feel very happy or lose weight. I can take a hit of temporary fun or enjoyment, but the effects are short lived and the come down is brutal because I wake up and I am still living through this and all that entails. I am tired of making lemonade out of lemons and my lemons are piling up in the back room. It takes more effort to be optimistic and positive and there is no summary of the bad news to be followed by the hopefulness of good news. Planning for the future feels like an exercise in futility, but something has got to give and there has to be a better way to get through this other than merely surviving. Thriving may be ambitious, but from the fire comes the Phoenix, so lets fly Bitches!
Here’s what I am proposing: Virtual weekly accountability group sessions.
7 days, 3 tasks.
It seems that we could all use some support creating a new normal for this new time. Our old tricks aren’t working and we need a new system. It’s just that things are moving so fast and it is hard to process and since there is no resolution the outcome is ever so slowly unfolding. Many are experiencing results that are the exact opposite their goals and are only just now realizing that. Social distancing has made in person accountability a non-thing. Gyms, churches, schools, family…all of these communities were like little check ins for all of us and though some of these things are available to us again, it isn’t the same and it is not stable or established, because the whole world had to hit the reset button and only some of the computers have come back online.
We need a new personal care system that makes us feel in control, provides a sense of hope and gives us regular mini victories. It is time to celebrate the small stuff and that is why 7 days, 3 tasks.
Each person will have the opportunity to take an in depth look at the “project/planning” areas of their life like fitness, nutrition, personal finance, home care, family relations, etc. After assessing individual lists, you will select only 3 things to be completed in 7 days. That is all. Then we meet again, the lists are reassessed and a new 3 tasks will be selected and so on.
The idea is that things are changing so fast that our goals need to be much smaller and more manageable. Lots of little steps make up a long journey and that is what the Covid Era is going to be, a very long journey. I know most of us are used to taking leaping long strides, but those aren’t really possible right now and could land you upstream without a paddle. It’s too risky, but so is waiting for the storm to pass. The anchors are no longer moments, achievements material goods; people are the new anchors. The storm is here to stay for awhile and individually our boats will sink or float away without those old anchors to hold us in place, but if we band together intentionally, we can all make it through. We must tether ourselves to new kinds of communities that can support us and hold us accountable to being our most amazing selves. We must accept that these different times require a different version of ourselves. Fear is real and this totally sucks. It is completely alright to not feel okay and be struggling with what feels like a host of mental illness symptoms, you are not alone. We have to try something.
With that, I invite you to join The Seven Day Squad.
7 days, any 3 tasks and you can do it.
I have created a Facebook group page and the meetings will be held via zoom. More details can be found on the page.
It has been said that ‘we rise by lifting others’ and that is so very true right now. We must band together any way we can to start a new movement of self-care so that we can participate more fully in the world today. We have a long way to go before anything ever feels “normal” again, but at least with friends the journey will be more enjoyable.
First live stream happening on Wednesday time TBD by the majority of the people who sign up, because I’m flexible like that, but most likely early in the morning. If you can’t make it to the live then just watch the video and complete the tasks on your own sometime throughout the day. Simple, right? If not, then we adjust and make it even easier!
Take care everyone and I hope to see you Wednesday!
With so many virtual hugs,
Kristina