Keep Calm and your Health will carry you on.
I’d like to think that I am a positive person on the whole. There are times of course when this is tested. These are such times! It’s hard to find any positive news with vast majority creating heightened levels of anxiety and worry.
I know we are having a double whammy with market downturn and virus spread but it’s essential to keep a calm perspective. We were due for a market correction (over 10yrs since GFC), governments seem prepared to shorten its tenure and Covid-19 is giving us one big wake up call in terms of basic hygiene and taking control of our health. Both will benefit us going forward but I know this is hard to picture right now.
What’s important is knowing what you CAN CONTROL and what you cannot. There is little point stressing about things that are out of your control so it’s a good exercise to go through what you can and take the focus off the outside crazy
Here’s my control centre and focus at the moment :
Saving allocation - access to emergency funds. If you don’t have an emergency fund reach out to family, friends and government support so you know what your options are. Do this now if not done already - lets offset financial stress because we know its not going to help.
Working from home environment - if possible keep a separate calm environment, add plants (Peace Lilies are excellent for air filtration) and / or a candle (I have a menthol & lavender soy candle burning at the moment). Reach out to clients and customers - people need to be aware of the new norm for a few weeks so give them options e.g video conferencing in my case - people need to feel they have a choice in terms of meetings and payment.
Check on the neighbours - particularly the elderly and families who may be struggling with kids at home - there is no harm in sending a text to see if anything is needed. This is especially important during times of isolation when mental health will be challenged. People need to know they are not alone - please take the time to do this.
Feed your immunity - please refer to my blog of last week and ensure you are maintaining a healthy dose of vegetables, fruit and fibre on a daily basis. This will have you in the best position to fight off any possible infection. Its also a great time to support your local community, avoid large supermarkets or going crazy with online shopping! If you’re struggling for cooking ideas Google, Instagram or Pinterest are your friends - be creative !
Exercise and fresh air - despite planned races being cancelled I am still training as usual where possible. At the moment there is nothing stopping me from running or bike riding as long as it’s not in a group. Rudy, the dog, also needs his daily exercise so walks still required. Even if you can’t stop and talk with fellow dog walkers you can wave and exchange smiles. Some sense of routine every day will greatly help keep a sense of normality. Even if this is not the norm for you - theres nothing stopping you right now.
Rest and digest - sleep time is your bodies time to repair, reset and build immunity. Worrying about things that you cannot control will weaken your body’s ability to do this. Give yourself a fighting chance ! If things worry you through the night - write them down and deal with them in the morning.
Hand washing and face touching - it goes without say that the virus can only get in if we let it! Ensuring we are extra diligent with washing our hands when we have been in contact with external surfaces and not touching our faces. I don’t know about you but the more I know I can’t touch my face the more those little itches creep in! Persist to resist until you can wash your hands and face.
I don’t mean to make light of the current situation but I do mean to try and help by having you focus on whats in YOUR CONTROL.
The body is an amazing thing so have faith in it, treat it with respect and treat each other with respect. Maintain virtual contact with those that you know will be more impacted by this time. The sense of virtual community can be equally as powerful - people need to feel they are not alone so please virtually reach out.
The UK Health Coach Association, amongst many other organisations will also be making theirselves available for people who are struggling during this time and I also will be available to people who just want to talk about their situation and options.
Please feel free to reach out and remember to please keep calm and your health will carry you on.
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