Stuck in the Middle With You
September. It’s almost like we’re hard-wired for it. It signals a fresh start. New beginnings. Kids are back to school (in one form or another) with the excitement of new books and new clothes. Friends reunite. For us adults, focus returns after the holiday brain of the summer and routine, sweet routine returns.
But this year, September and for likely the rest of this year, things are going to be different. Plus, we’re heading into flu season, and inevitably, the colder weather will drive us indoors into close contact situations, again. No doubt, we’ll all be waiting for the daily Covid updates to find out if or how many new cases there are as we try our best to keep everyone safe.
Strange times, indeed.
We’ve been doing this whole Covid pandemic thing since mid-March. One thing I know for sure is that we can’t go back. As much as we might wish for or want to get back to how things were, it just isn’t possible. There is no way for us to return to the normalcy that we used to know.
But, we can move forward. Mid-March was the beginning, and somehow, we managed to get through the initial shock and disbelief. Now with September upon us, I think we are in the middle of things and it seems that we have a decision to make. (*Thanks Brene Brown for the inspiration).
Do we move forward living with the constant stress we’ve been under or do we learn and grow?
Before us lies an opportunity. An opportunity to make the best of it…for ourselves, our partners, our children, our families and our community.
We don’t know what the next few months will look like or how long this is going to be our reality. We don’t yet know when this is all going to end, or what it will look like when we get there. And all of this in itself is anxiety causing.
But we’ve got now. We’ve got today. And we’ve got tomorrow. What would happen if instead of just barely getting through our days, we embrace this middle and make it the best it can be?
What if we learn to recognize when we’re feeling afraid, anxious, worried, stressed, overwhelmed, hopeless, or exhausted? And rather than just letting the emotions run us ragged, we intentionally did something about it to ease our stress and to regain some sense of control over our lives, again.
That’s what I’m doing. I want to do something to help…to make a difference. I don’t want to be a bystander in all of this.
I can’t cure the Coronavirus, I don’t know the first thing about making a vaccine…but I do know about stress. That’s my thing…so I thought if I can share some information to help everyone manage their stress it might make life a little easier.
I’ve been working hard on something new. In coming weeks, I’ll have a FREE online course just for you. It’s called ‘Enough Already! Strategies for Stress Recovery during Covid and Beyond’. I’ll share some information with you so you can learn about stress, how to recognize it and what to do about it. You’ll find some short videos, tips, techniques and some worksheets that you can download. It’s all absolutely free of charge.
Stay tuned for the release date so you can sign up.
Like the Stealers Wheel song says…’Here I am…Stuck in the Middle with You’ and there’s no place I’d rather be.
We’re going to get through this ‘middle’ that we’re in now…and together, we’ll make it the best it can be.
Cheers to face masks, hand washing and a Marvelous Middle 😊
Penney