In difficult times we often pause and re-think. Due to the recent global changes caused by the pandemic, we were all forced to pause and re-think many things; priorities, things that matter, other that matter less, family, work and much more.
We all pass what we call the “SARA” effect, when we receive bad news. S is for shock, A is for anger, R is for realization and another A is for finally accepting.
Now, I believe that many of us have passed the shock and anger stages, and we are now at the realization, and hopefully finally the accept and adapt phase.
As someone who is found of the idea of observing, I wanted to wait and see when this “shift” between the stages will happen. The shift of ideas and emotions; the shift of mind or as I would like to call it, the consciousness of our minds. How do we help ourselves facilitate for this shift?
Entering a new phase, hopefully with more awareness and less fears. Here are a few tips that will help you cope better, sustain your energy and consequently your work productivity. The coming phase is a new normal. It is not what it used to be five months back. How can we prepare our minds to accept this new normal?
When life starts gradually opening again, when you go back to your work, think of solutions instead of focusing on the problems that are likely to rise because of the changes. Depending on your job and your seniority level, you may need to support your team and those around you more than the usual. But remember while doing this to also look after yourself. More tips on this will follow.
Mindfulness: Use this time to be fully present with your mind. There is no need to anticipate, project or get involved in any negative news. Think only about today, actually about now. That will help you a lot to focus on your work and daily tasks, so you will limit the distractions despite of the changes, in addition to also reducing your anxiety levels. Practice.
Interacting with more people now in comparison to the last two months will require you to be more careful with the engagement level you have. If you are a sensitive person, you need to be very selective of who you engage with. In such different and difficult times, you need to surround yourself with those who understand and support you morally and mentally. The last thing anyone needs is feeding on negative thoughts. If your job requires for you to provide this type of support for others, please make sure you are getting more support from anther source to maintain the balance. This could be through coaching, breathing, writing or meditation.
Lift your morale: we had more time to look after ourselves. Even though this time might be less, try to stick to any routine that you like. Pick something you can do daily, maybe for 10 minutes, and continue to do it for yourself.
Meditate: meditation helps you relax, helps regulate your anxiety and creates more balance and harmony within our minds and bodies. If you have not done or tried meditation before, now is a good opportunity to start. You can check online for easy and guided meditations.
Stay safe, happy and different during the different times.
Nada Rashed is a Complimentary Alternative Medicine Practitioner and Certified Reflexology Teacher, www.reflexologyegypt.com. She has a diploma in foot reflexology from Reflexology Association in Canada and later on specialized in different reflexology fields such as spinal reflexology, pregnancy, fertility, and hand reflexology. She also studied several courses in color healing.