Whew. 2020 is not messing around. Whiplash, roller-coaster, call it what you will – like I said in my last post, there’s just a lot to weather right now. I wish I could say it would end soon, but it’s not looking likely. I do think that things will stop shifting hour by hour, and we’ll settle into a new (and temporary) normal.
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I’m getting asked constantly these days about how to stay grounded in this wild time, so I am jumping right in here to share some ideas. I touched on the first step in my last post, which was about becoming aware of what might work for you. Weathering this storm, and frankly, any tough time in life, is about getting clear on what YOU need to feel grounded, and this will be personal and specific to you. There is no one-size-fits-all.
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So start a running list, a brain dump of sorts, of whatever pops into your mind as a possibility for self-soothing and feeling grounded. Do you need to move more? Do you need to get still? Do you need to connect to other humans (albeit at a distance)? Do you need to connect to a higher source? Do you need to connect more deeply to yourself?
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Some examples from my list:
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Simple morning routines. This can be a very brief or extended meditation or breathing practice (I’ve explained my own here). Do whatever feels right to you on both content and duration! I feel that consistency has been incredibly beneficial to me, even though I’ve mixed up the actual content of the practice. Eg: I shift from simple breathing to longer meditations, depending on how I’m feeling.
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Tech breaks. AMEN to these. Getting up from every device completely for 5-10 minutes a day, a couple times a day, is liberating and I believe necessary. Especially right now.
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Notification liberation. Turn off those email notifications! I mean, do you really need to be pulled around by all the bings and bongs of every email coming in? The one thing I have learned is that no matter when I go into my inbox, there’s more email in there. No need for notifications.
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Feet planting. Take those shoes off and put your bare feet on the ground. This alone is a straight up getting grounding winner for me. Sometimes, I will make “fists with my toes” when I’m on carpet, à la that classic scene from the movie Die Hard (Fists With Your Toes part 1 & 2). There’s something really satisfying about making those toe fists.
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Sit quietly. Take small moments to simply breathe with your palms down on your thighs. Close your eyes unless this sparks anxiety. In that case, just keep them open and softly focused on a point in front of you. Even taking one to two minutes with this can shift your entire perspective, your experience, and your day.
Underlying all of these activities is the #1 most important ingredient: Be kind. Yes, always to others, and, most definitely and quite essentially, to yourself. To really weather storms, what’s required is assuming the best in others and yourself, and then act on it. Kindness matters, and is a gift we can give widely. And it’s a gift that’s especially important in finding our way through any wilderness, particularly this one we find ourselves in right now. We are in uncharted territory, and honestly, nothing really works without returning again and again and again (and again) to kindness.
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Please reach out to me if you need additional support right now. I’m working on more free ways to offer support on social. Be sure to let me know what might help you now to get grounded and weather this particular storm.
