Do you ever wish you could put the clock back and go and give yourself some good advice, knowing what you know now?
A few weeks ago I asked the brilliant brains in the Lucidity Network ‘What advice would you have given yourself on 1 March 2020 – knowing what you know now?’
There were too many responses to list them all, so here’s my pick of what they said.
Stop, breathe and take time to settle. This will be a long process and there is no hurry for anything.
Just. Slow. Down.
Stop judging yourself by ‘normal’ standards. We need different measures of ourselves for these different times.
Don’t leave your favourite cardigan in your locker at work.
Go and hug a lot of people. (Even the random lady down the park with the barky dog)
Go visit everyone you know and love and spend a lot of time with them – appreciating everything (even your sisters annoying habits) as you don’t know when you might see them again. Make time every day to get out in the fresh air and enjoy your surroundings, it’ll make all the difference.
Always have a plan B (maybe a C and D as well).
Buy flour (who knew!?)
Don’t rush to fill up your car thinking that there will be a disruption in supply. What will actually happen is text book economics: no one goes anywhere so demand goes down, the world is over supplied with crude oil and prices fall to their lowest in decades. NOW go fill up
Remind yourself to stay calm. Many times.
It might not seem possible at first but there will be positives, parts of it will actually be enjoyable. Find the positives and appreciate them.
Finish as much client work as possible and enjoy the quiet time in the house before schools shut!
Be kind to yourself and build up your resilience.
Take an office chair home from work – kitchen chairs will hurt your back.
Treasure the joy in spending time with loved ones, hug them a little bit longer as you’ll need it to keep you going over the weeks ahead.
Cut yourself some slack and don’t judge yourself for any emotion you feel over the next few weeks. This is going to be a rollercoaster. Some days you’ll feel ok. Others days you’ll be worried sick. Some days you’ll feel guilty that you’re finding it so hard when you know other people have far more to deal with, and some days you’ll battle between your desire to be productive and your lack of action.
Don’t waste your energy judging others for their actions, just concentrate on you.
The stuff you’re stressing about now will not be important in a few weeks.
Remember you have others who want to help you that you can delegate to.
Buy more printer ink and garden furniture you like.
Strap yourself in and just roll with the feelings rather than fight them.
Tomorrow will be the same but different.
Stop trying to plan too far ahead, you need to focus on getting through today.
It’s going to be mentally exhausting so use the coping strategies that work for you to look after yourself, so you can keep going and help others.
Look for all the positives that come out of the situation. There are many, but it will be hard to notice them at the beginning.
Give all your elderly relatives a crash course in technology.
Adjust your own expectations of yourself. Stay at home parent, working 37.5 hours a week and teaching are three separate full time jobs.
Don’t focus on what could happen, focus on the here and now. Be kind to yourself and don’t compare yourself to others.
We are all in the same storm, but not in the same boat!
What would your advice be? Feel free to comment and share your advice below. And if you’d like to join this brilliant group of brains, then you can. Learn more about joining the Lucidity Network here.