When the going gets tough…..!
We live in a world of uncertainty right now. Political partisanship, democracy challenges, racial tensions, economic turmoil and the covid-19 pandemic. That’s enough for one of those items to occur in one year but we have had them all in the past year! No wonder we are all struggling with anxiety, depression, loneliness/isolation and fear. But what does 2021 hold for you? …………. Have you thought about it? Do you consider yourself a resilient person?
Times of uncertainty and the unknown can make us stop in our tracks frozen and afraid to move. It can also be a time when you pull yourself up by your bootstraps and soldier on. It is times like this when you can really take a look at your life, your goals and your priorities. There is nothing like a health challenge or times of turmoil to reset and refocus yourself.
I have been on a health journey in the last year on top of all of the craziness in the world. Has it been hard? Absolutely. Have I wanted to give up? Absolutely. I also realized it was a time to really look at myself and what I wanted to do with my life. I re-evaluated my job, my priorities and my relationships with others. What did I learn?
Here are the top 5 items I learned about myself:
My family relationships are my number 1 priority. Without my family, I would have not have had the strength and stamina to keep going through the tough days. Saying Thank you, I Love You and I’m Sorry are now always part of my love language to them.
My health is key to all success. If I don’t take care of myself first, I can’t take care of others. This has been a hard lesson for me. I tend to be an energizer bunny with always something to do. Always on the move physically or mentally. I realized that taking time to relax, meditate and enjoy life around me makes me a better & happier person.
My work is an important part of my identity but it isn’t wholly who I am. I enjoy helping others and tend to be an empath in feeling everything another person feels. This does lead to compassion fatigue and burn out and I was feeling both. I realized I needed to continue to refocus on the areas of work I enjoy, want to do and have passion to do to make me a better person and professional. Again, this has been a journey in my thinking. I have always felt like I needed to help everyone who needs or asks for my help (can’t take the social worker out of me!) but this isn’t realistic. I needed to dive deep on this one.
My spiritual wellness is a necessity. I can’t be whole if I don’t attend to my soul and spiritual connectedness. I continue on this journey as I am sure many of you are as well. Finding out what brings me that connection is my next focus.
My relationships with friends is very important. Knowing you have someone in your corner no matter what is the key for me in staying grounded, happy and understood.
I now invite you to dive deep into your own lives. What does 2021 hold for you?