SIF Coronavirus/Covid-19 Care Correspondence
/Week 10/May 17, 2020
Greetings Shift Into Fifth Community,
Week 10 of some kind of shelter in place for most of us....and I'm continuing to think about YOU.
Please share any and all of these weekly Coronavirus/Covid-19 Compassion Correspondence emails with your networks. I believe strongly there has never been a more important time for us to support one another.
Curiosity/Lessons Learned-Takeaways
From the time I can remember, my Mom took notes. Whether it was watching the news on tv, reading a book or listening to a radio show, she took notes. When I’d ask her what she was doing, she’d simply say that if she didn’t know something or something piqued her interest, she wanted to know more. Being pre-Internet days (yes, I am that old!:-), she’d trudge over to our Encyclopedia Britannica and start researching. Sometimes she’d go to the library to either research or take out more books or even sign up for a course to learn more. Somehow, some way, she’d dig deeper. Find out more. And then she’d share…always.
My Dad was a voracious reader. History and politics were subjects of choice, with the arts never far behind. His focus was intense. I used to think that if my hair was on fire, I wasn’t sure he’d be distracted if I walked in while he was reading. As a matter of fact, I do remember as a kid, smelling and seeing smoke throughout the 2nd floor of my house. When I ran downstairs to see what was up, I saw him in his chair, just under the smoke, head down, reading (yes, smoke rises). When I yelled, he looked up….and thank goodness, avoided a disaster when he immediately turned off the switch to the boiler downstairs!
They were, simply, curious. Insatiably curious. And passionate life-long learners about a wide array of topics. Right up to the very end of their respective lives. Mom insisting on finishing a 600 plus page book for her book club in the last weeks of her battle with lung cancer. And Dad, reading 2 major newspapers a day (cover to cover) in addition to multiple current event magazines as he battled the late stages of his cancer. Somehow, they felt it was their responsibility as human beings to keep learning…to keep growing,
Fast forward to today. The Pandemic. A new normal for all of us filled with lots more questions than answers. Unsettling. Scary. At times, paralyzing. Looking back, I now see the seeds planted...the gift of instilling a love of learning and deep curiosity. An understanding that the more you learn, the more there is to learn. Viewing life as one big classroom, with everyone and everything as potential teachers and lessons to be garnered and applied. Not as something happening TO me but rather happening FOR me to learn and grow. Thus, this pandemic, though unsettling and scary, becomes just another classroom. Another opportunity to get radically curious. learn, grow, dig deeper, understand, assess, note lessons learned and apply them moving forward.
Core to my coaching philosophy is that Curiosity and taking stock of lessons learned/takeaways are two key tools for positive and purposeful change for ALL. Muscles that can be developed and consistently exercised by everyone. I invite clients to stay “radically curious” and take note, daily, of lessons learned/take always. These are essential tools that help shift energy from catabolic to anabolic by keeping your lenses/aperture/filters wide open. During this pandemic, I cannot think of two more valuable tools to help create and maintain the energy to support a sense of what’s possible and a path to move forward.
Remember, change is the one constant. Pandemic or not. Every second, we are changing. It's the one thing that's a sure bet. How we handle change is at the core of how we move through life. My coaching practice is dedicated to supporting and accelerating positive and purposeful change. While there is no one size fits all on HOW to change, or what change will ultimately look like, there are definitely some tried and true tools that help each of us effectuate and move through change positively, productively and position us for sustainable and rewarding success. And STAYING CURIOUS and ASSESSING-APPLYING LESSONS LEARNED/TAKE-AWAYS are two of those key tools.
Developing and sustaining the muscles that support positive and productive action and energy is the work that we continue to do together in the Shift Into Fifth community. So many of you have started and continue to do the hard work to cultivate and develop the inner tools to stay calm, centered and shift/utilize energy in productive and powerful ways. In other words, you are ready to meet the moment!!!
Self Care
Please, stay extra vigilant about your own self-care - hydration, nutrition, sleep, exercise/movement, meditation/mindfulness/deep breathing, practicing self-compassion/kindness/gratitude, laughing/smiling, staying super curious (each day asking who are my teachers today/noting lessons learned-today's takeaways), limiting social media/tv/print exposure, actively choosing/ingesting those thoughts/stories/information that support your optimal self etc. Remember, this is a marathon...not a sprint!
Resources
Accessing resources is key! Please remember that I have put all the weekly SIF Community Coronavirus/Covid-19 Care Correspondence on my blog (www.shiftintofifth.com) with an additional (growing) list of resources for all of you to use and to share with others. PLEASE SHARE! Thanks to many of you, our SIF Community is growing and so is the list of resources-thank YOU!
This week's highlight Covid-19 inspired resource(s) comes from Audible and Ten Percent Happier:
Audible has launched a FREE service on its website to help those having challenges with getting proper sleep during this challenging time. Audible has created various audio experiences, including bedtime stories and meditations narrated by some wonderful actors/musicians, designed to invite relaxation and sleep. And Ten Percent Happier has now launched a six (6) month free membership for healthcare workers, teachers, warehouse workers, grocery workers and food delivery workers. This is in addition to it's FREE Coronavirus Sanity Guide (https://www.tenpercent.com/coronavirussanityguide) which I had featured in one of my earlier Coronavirus/Covid-19 Care Correspondence emails. PLEASE SHARE these with all the workers listed above who could certainly use some additional resources/support.
And I want to remind you that I am here for YOU-to support you in any way that I can. If that means a quick call for you to rant/vent or simply to get a pep talk for you and/or members of your circles, I am here. Creating more anabolic energy for accelerated positive and purposeful change in the world is at the very core of my mission. Supporting YOU is key to that mission.
Stay strong. Be Safe. Stay Healthy. Be kind.
With Gratitude and Purpose,
Valerie
PS. In my work and life, humor is an essential tool for shifting and staying in positive/anabolic energy. Thus, I'm sharing a few new pandemic inspired cartoons/memes. I'm also attaching 2 new podcast episodes that I found particularly inspiring and illuminating (exploring such essential themes as adaptability, kindness, joy, anxiety, laughter, self-compassion, loneliness, grief, responding vs. reacting, connectivity, patience, choice, resilience, gratitude and hope). And as an extra bonus, I'm attaching the 8th installment of John Kasinski's uplifting SGN (Some Good News). Please take a moment to listen/watch-you'll be glad you did.
PPS. And here's this week's moments pf zen brought to you by the desert's spring magic show. Each day brings an endless array of new colors, shapes and textures. The power, grandeur and majesty of it all continues to take my breath away. Enjoy!
1. Listen to Small Ways to Improve Your Everyday Life Right Now | Gretchen Rubin from Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris on Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ten-percent-happier-with-dan-harris/id1087147821?i=1000473504887
2. Listen to BONUS: Grateful Expectations from The Happiness Lab with Dr. Laurie Santos on Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-happiness-lab-with-dr-laurie-santos/id1474245040?i=1000462323658
3. John Krasinski SGN - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXdKrtmexWU
