A Great Day Doesn’t Happen By Accident

/0 Comments/in Gems /by Linda

Last time I shared about how I got my focus and motivation “groove” back after a couple of discombobulated weeks of SIP. But there is a very important piece I didn’t get to, and that is how I start my mornings and manage my time, after all, a great day doesn’t happen by accident.

Truth be told I am not the most disciplined, driven person you will ever meet…I am super chill, like things to be easy and fun. Whenever possible I like things to unfold as a path of least resistance.

Here is how how I created—and gamified—my morning routine, so that I look forward to it, and my day unfolds easily and productively

I hope you find this helpful!

How I Got My Focus and Motivation ‘Groove’ Back

/0 Comments/in Gems /by Linda

It seems like one of the biggest challenges folks are dealing with as we SIP and move into the ‘new normal’ is around time management, focus, and motivation. These are things I wrestle with myself, and I thought I’d share how I’ve managed my own focus and motivation challenges.

I hope this is helpful!

Resilience: The Necessity Of Our Times

/0 Comments/in Gems /by Linda

One hundred and seventy nine days ago, I packed my car, not know if I was leaving forever or for only a few days. I had about an hour to decide what to bring and what to leave. Mainly I took photos, clothes, toiletries, my work stuff, and easy to find items that it would be difficult or prohibitively expensive to replace. I left irreplaceable family heirlooms, things that were too big and bulk or heavy to move; things that if I had no house would be burdensome.

My entire town was doing the same thing. We were under mandatory evacuation from the Kincade Fire. It took an excruciating 2 hours to go 1.5 miles to the onramp of the highway since we were all leaving at once.

Inching along, I felt such a mix of thoughts and emotions. I was incredibly grateful the fire was not baring down on us as Paradise CA. had experienced last year; that we had time to plan and make decisions; far different from the devastating Tubbs Fire 2 years ago, where people had to run out of their houses in the middle of the night with not much more than their car keys. Just then the woman who I was going to stay with texted me to let me know she was evacuating too…

In the last 2 years we have become accustomed to rolling blackouts, loss of internet, preemptive and evacuation alerts. For us it’s fire. Other places there are floods, tornados, hurricanes, earthquakes…even war. Uncertainty feels more and more familiar.

I wondered how my life would change if I had no home to come back to. I mentally inventoried what I was leaving behind vs. what I had thought to bring, wondering if I would feel I made the right choices. I wondered how it would affect my kids who are barely out of the house. Would it even make sense for me to stay in the same town—and what if there was a town to come back to? Where would I go? What would I do? How would my life change?

The not knowing was the hardest part. But I was safe, my kids were safe, and everything else was either replaceable or non-essential for my future happiness. Just as I got on the highway, a full 2 hours after leaving my front door, I came up with my Plan B. Not a plan B for where I was going, but a plan B for my life!

It was like a huge weight had been lifted. Suddenly I felt completely unattached to whether or not I had a home to come back to. My Plan B felt like an exciting adventure that I was almost hoping for.

On the morning of the 2nd day of the evacuation it looked certain that the entire town would be lost starting with the neighborhood I live in. An unbelievably heroic and collaborative effort of firefighters from all over California, other states, and even countries, saved Windsor CA. The video footage from my neighborhood was surreal. There were fire trucks and crews in nearly every driveway, defending each house, tree, and fence, making sure it did not get out of control and consume the rest of the town. I still have a few burn spots in my back yard reminding me of just how close it came.

In the end I was relieved to have a home to come back to after the 6-day evacuation. It took a few days for things to get back to relative normal, and I have to admit that I had more than a twinge of regret that I wouldn’t be free to strike off on a new adventure—and that I would still have to clean out my garage at some point!

Last time it was fire. This time it is a global pandemic. Last time it was Northern CA. This time it is nearly the whole globe. For the past 44 days I have been stuck at home in “social isolation,” but at least this time I have the comforts of electricity, internet, and my own bed instead of weathering it elsewhere…

One thing that’s becoming abundantly clear is that It’s not a matter of what happens to us, or what life throws at us, but how prepared we are to deal with whatever comes that matters most. Resilience; the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness, is the necessity of our times.

We can have resilience on many levels: In our overall health; body, cells, and organs; in our mind, emotions and coping skills, in our families, relationships, neighborhoods and communities; in our work, finances, and living situations… The more we consider all of the ways we can be resilient, the more resilient we become. The more prepared we are for whatever comes, the less upsetting and disruptive it will be.

I think we’re all on an adventure of resilience whether we call it that or not. But let’s call it out—and become more resilient together.

Please join me for the FREE 7-day Resiliency Lifestyle Summit: Expert Strategies For Staying Healthy In Modern Times. April 28 – May 4th.

 

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The Gift Of Self-Compassion

/0 Comments/in Gems /by Linda

I just got off the phone with an amazing woman. She is successful, works hard to make the world a better place on a massive scale, and brings incredible value and humanity to everything she does; she is an inspiration to say the least. I am beyond thrilled she will be contributing to the upcoming Resiliency Lifestyle Summit and can’t wait to interview her!

As our conversation got more personal it got even more interesting–and cathartic. I’ll speak for myself, although at this point, I have heard the following sentiment more times than I can count.

Always being sunny is exhausting.

If there was ever a time to be more self-compassionate, this is it. Be loving and kind now; busy later. The Pollyanna in me can take a break (for now) and leave some space for me to feel whatever it is I’m feeling without judgment.

There is so much pressure, although much of it self-imposed, to be ‘doing just fine’ and to go on as if this were no big deal. We have so much “extra time” on our hands. We should be getting a lot done. We should be getting outside and exercising more. We should be catching up on all of the undone to-dos… Should, should, should…

It seems somewhat natural to expect that we could just keep going about our business, making the necessary technical adjustments to keep pace with the world, filling our time with productive activities, counting the silver linings (of which there are many), and always putting our best face forward. But I wonder, as I hear more and more people reveal secretly how relieved they are that they are not alone in wanting to take to bed, binge-watch Netflix, and munch through snacks they would not otherwise consider, what is most helpful in this situation…?

If it is permission to be more self-compassionate and gentle, I give it. YOU HAVE PERMISSION TO be kind to yourself, patient, and nonjudgmental. You will be more ready, willing and able to deal with whatever tomorrow brings if you take the best possible care of yourself you can today.

It has been so helpful for me to know that even those I admire most are going through the exact same issues I am in their own ways; needing extra down time, needing to be gentler and more patient with themselves, that things are taking longer and coming together more slowly than they planned, and being OK with it. It is reassuring to be reminded that this is not a race, not a competition, and that when we come together to support one another, commiserate, laugh, cry, scream, and just show up authentically as ourselves, together, this crazy time can be just as wonderful as any other.

It is all going to be OK.

To join the Resiliency Lifestyle Summit, click here.

I Probably Already Had Covid-19 — and other insights from this past week

/0 Comments/in Gems /by Linda

The last thing I want to do is think about corona virus. I’m sure by now you’re probably feeling the same way. But here we are in the middle of a global pandemic and think about it we must.

I had something totally different in mind to share this week that I was all excited about, but in light of what’s happening it would seem trivial. (Although also incredibly relevant. More on this next week.)

 

There has been so much new information in such a short amount of time, it’s mind boggling. Here are my favorite insights from this past week—including that I probably already had it!

  • The symptoms. Fever, dry cough, shortness of breath with no congestion. It sounds pretty standard and didn’t think much of it until I read this: “Here is a simple self-check that we can do every morning. Take a deep breath and hold your breath for more than 10 seconds. If you complete it successfully without coughing, without discomfort, stiffness or tightness, etc., it proves there is no Fibrosis in the lungs, basically indicates no infection. In critical time, please self-check every morning in an environment with clean air.” This bit came from a source with some dubious information and I don’t know how correct the terms “prove” or “fibrosis” are in this instance (it’s translated from another language), but it is very specific, and helpful for me. (More on this below.)
  • If anyone is looking for the next million-dollar product idea: “Don’t Touch Your Face Gloves”! Cute, fashionable, bling—or other personal statement options—anything that you would wear, but not want to touch your face with. Low production and shipping costs—hi profit margin. Anyone game for a new venture? If so I’ll pre order a few pairs because as it turns out, I LOVE TOUCHING MY FACE!
  • For all of the potential downsides of Covid-19 there are at least as many upsides. A few that I’m particularly excited about are 1. The benefit to the environment. 2. People will take their health more seriously. 3. People will finally learn to wash their hands properly. 4. Public places will be less crowded and cleaner. 5. The need for universal healthcare in the US will be more evident than ever and support for it is likely to grow. 6. People will spend more time at home with their families. 7. New industries that will increase global resilience may spring up… I’m leaving a lot out, but I’m sure you could find dozens of your own reasons why this could potentially be awesome!
  • Now here’s my story, the one I dangled before you in the subject line.

This past fall a lot of people around here where commenting on how “the flu season is particularly bad this year.”  I rarely get the flu—and if I do—It’s a few days of malaise that I know better than to try and push through. Not a big deal for me.

When I got sick on January 15th, Corona was not yet on my radar. It was the 3rd day of an event where women had flown in from all over the country. Two of the women were sick and I sat next to one of them for the entire 3 days. On the 3rd day I developed a fever, which lasted for 4 days of 102 temp with aches, dry, prickly cough, no stuffy nose, no congestion, however I was definitely trying to get stuff up and out of my lungs to the point I actually injured my ribs. The cough persisted for about 5 weeks. To be honest I thought I was being a bit of a baby canceling all of my live events for 3 weeks. (So glad I did!) Now, 8 weeks later, I feel better than ever… just FYI. (I don’t want you to worry.)

After reading the more explicit description of symptoms above than I had seen before, I realized it was describing what I experienced. During the worst of it I couldn’t hold my breath for even 2 seconds. Talking put me into coughing fits. My coughs where deep, violent attempts to get stuff up and out of my lungs, which I did, and on some occasions with blood, and they left me exhausted. But there was no congestion, no runny nose. My sinuses were clear as a bell. After the fever was gone, I still couldn’t hold my breath at all. I had a tight, uncomfortable feeling in my lungs that made it impossible for me to hold my breath for more than 5 seconds at a time and it was particularly disconcerting, like “I’m too young to feel this decrepit”! I don’t remember having a sore throat, but I did have some pretty severe aches, especially in one leg (the one with the hurt toe).

Looking for perspective, I called some of the other women who I know were sick around the same time and place I was, including a few who also suspect they had Corona. One was on a cruise ship that is now quarantined due to the virus. Between them they accounted for a dozen or more cases including spouses & friends. Some recovered after a few days or a week, one had it really bad for 2 months, but she has asthma as a preexisting condition. Their kids didn’t seem to get it.

After that I called my doctor who said she suspects she has been treating corona cases as far back as October/November. She did not have any information on a titer test (looks for antibodies rather than active virus) and referred me to Sonoma County Health Department Of Health. They knew of no titer test and referred me to my primary care physician. Since I am now with Kaiser I called them. The latest: there is no titer test at this point. They can barely stay current on tests for sick people, and without current symptoms there is no protocol for any testing of any kind.

 

As I sit here and write this blog, I just spoke to one of the women who was at the event with me who got sick at the same time I did. She also believes she had the corona virus. She is married to a doctor and it is “his discernment” that that is what she had. The good news is that she is fine and neither her kids nor her husband got it even though she was as sick as she was.

While I am feeling surprisingly happy and relieved that I (probably) had it, I also know things are going to get worse before they get better. It’s still unclear if one can get re infected, and the biggest concern, I think, is asymptomatic people walking around and unwittingly infecting those with compromised immune systems and older folks.

With all of the canceled events and telecommuting, there’ll be extra time to catch up on sleep, cook some healthy food, get in your happy place, find the silver linings, read, meditate, etc. The best way to come through this with flying colors is just to be as healthy and happy as you can possibly be!

 

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