Healthier Living in the Age of Coronavirus
I have been racking my brain trying to come up with some useful advice for healthier living but it seems like these times call for different measures. What could I share that would possibly be useful right now? When we have had so much taken away from our everyday lives it is certainly a challenge to focus on the “shoulds” of life. We all know we should get more exercise, drink more water, eat more vegetables, start a meditation practice... the list goes on and on. But it is much easier now to reward ourselves with a treat. Who lately hasn’t indulged in the extra glass of wine, a second (or third!) slice of banana bread or another tv binge watching session? It’s natural to want to find comfort while everything around us feels out of control. So my healthy living tip this month is to give yourself a break. Really. That might mean something a little different for everyone so try it in a way that feels right to you. Give yourself a break.
A good friend of mine is a single mother. Between working from home, home schooling her daughter and taking care of the dog, the house and everything in between she has a full plate and the pandemic just adds a whole new layer of worry on top. She knows there are plenty of things she should be doing to help manage the to do list and her stress level. Getting even a small fraction of her goals accomplished each day is a challenge. My suggestion to her - rest assured that doing your best each day is good enough. These are unprecedented times. Ease up on your expectations and give yourself a break. Celebrate every victory, no matter how small. Everyone was fed today - great! That is good enough. Don’t berate yourself for what you didn’t get done, appreciate what you did. Give yourself a break.
That same friend recently gave me a similar piece of advice. I have been stretching and growing and reaching in a great variety of ways. Trying multiple new avenues to expand my business. You may not know that I have a fiercely harsh inner critic. And even though I generally do not consider myself a perfectionist, I have revealed some tendencies in that direction as I put myself out there online in the form of recorded classes and courses. This has been a field day for that inner critic. But my friend said to me, “don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good.” And she was right. I needed to ease up. Take the pressure off. Appreciate what I have done. Give myself a break.
Even if you are able to hide from the news the world is still an exceptionally stressful place right now. Even if you have mastered your gratitude practice and know your problems are first world problems. So if you aren’t getting to everything on your “shoulds” list, don’t let it get you down. I recommend giving yourself a break. Appreciate that you are doing your best right now. We all are.
