By Tammy Whalen-Blake https://www.gotoyellow.co.uk/
As the lockdown restrictions are being lifted, our lives are slowly returning to our routines. Whilst many are adamant to carry the lockdown blessing forward, the reality is there is a chance we will return to overworking habits and be back at square one.
But fear not, as there is something you can do about it.
Through talking to many clients and contacts, it transpires almost everyone has the same awakenings in the lockdown, and they all wanted to carry this forward when life resumes to normal.
The top 3 lockdown blessings are as follows
- Time to think – evaluating, reflecting and fine-tuning the decisions made and the impact to date. This includes discovering your true self and what you want to become, whether that be in work, health, family, friendship, personal growth and more.
- Slowing down – the ability to enjoy life in the present moment, appreciating the simple wonders of the world and giving time to value it deserves.
- Relationships – fine-tuning the relationships we wish to cultivate for a fulfilling life and distancing from those who drag us back into Energy-Sucker-Land.
We are habitual creatures of this world and regardless of these lessons, if you do not have a plan, you will return to what is most familiar. We know why our blessings are important to us, we felt it and lived in. This is a great start. Without consistent action taking coupled with being realistic for your lifestyle, we naturally get caught up in the grind of life and revert back to what we know.
We must build the foundations to maintain our lockdown lessons in order to live them in ordinary times. Think longer term, a year or so from today.
Here are some real-world Lockdown-Blessing Maintenance Plans to consider;
Protect your sacred space. Whether you are working from home or if working in an office; have dedicated space that evokes focus, repels any negativity and invites inspirational vibes into your space.
This might mean asserting your voice with setting boundaries. It is not OK for your partner to chomp on their lunch while you are deep in thought on your work strategy or to shout office chit-chat because you are further apart from your peers.
If you allow yourself to be distracted, be mindful that this will take time away from the lockdown blessings you wish to maintain. You make a choice to be distracted and take longer to complete your work commitments or to work smarter and free-up your out of work hours to invest in your priorities.
Equally, respect other people’s sacred space. They might want to be efficient in work to invest valuable time with their loved ones. Gauge their body language, make a judgement call and respect their decision.
Fulfilling celebrations. Celebrate your wins often, no matter how big or small. It fuels growth. Consider swapping the going out with cocktails for time with your carefully selected tribe over a healthy meal cooked by your personally hired chef.
You get to have quality time with your loved ones; filling up your energy supplies with love, giving your health priority with nutritious food and being hangover-free to enjoy the following few days. Now you have more time to invest the rest of your lockdown-blessings. Win-win.
Not everyone is created the same. If you are desperate for a shindig, because partying brings you joy, then create a tactical blowout pot. Save some funds each month to build a pot that has a single purpose of having a blowout; buy the outfit, gather friends, get the music blaring, book the booth in the club and get your freak on! Once the blowout pot is exhausted and you satisfy your desire, embrace your new lockdown-blessings with a dash of your wildness. If you do not satisfy your need, old habits of regular wild nights will creep up on you. You can balance both.
We love doing-the-do. It gives us a sense of achievement, purpose and need. But be mindful that wearing all hats and being in control is exhausting. Learn to let go of all identities placed upon you and discover the power of communication; to delegate with trust, build empowered relationships and respectfully say no.
Having to be the best at everything slows the car down on the journey to fulfilment. By giving to everyone else but yourself means they achieve their fulfilment faster while you are still at the start line. Reduce your self-imposed stop signs, start enjoying the ride.
Me-time is not selfish and nor a sign of failure. If you run a car on empty, how long will it plod along until it breaks down? Schedule time for your health, to recuperate and re-energise, by doing what calms your mind and restores your body. Everyone is different, some need a morning head-space run, whereas others enjoy the silence in the bathtub.
When you give to you, you can show up more effectively in your work, friendship circles and more importantly, for yourself!
Internal validation. By embracing your unique self has power for a vibrant life, twofold; not only do you break free from buying the latest clothes, gadgets and luxury cars to get external validation, but we also save the planet from our over-consumption lifestyle. Did the new trainers matter in lockdown or were the clothes on your back good enough?
Let’s love who and what we are whilst saving our precious planet. Reducing our consumption mitigates climate change by limiting greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of goods and services.
This is how you can take action.
Start by writing down your top lockdown-blessings, think through your ideal lifestyle, and finally, consider what is a realistic plan to maintain, starting with the end in mind and working backwards.
Life fulfilment is for you. You can be successful and balanced at the same time. Today is the day you take control of your destiny.
