Sometimes I think that I should write something REALLY motivational and uplifting and release the Life Coach in me onto the world BUT, for some reason I’m not feeling that for this season. Sure, saying positive affirmations, listening to motivational speakers and having someone on your side to coach you forward through to the next step is important. It helps us to keep our focus in the right place, at the right time. It can help us to get unstuck when we feel as though we’ve become stuck in a negative circumstance or way of being. Maybe we’ve become stuck in an unhelpful way of thinking or seeing things. I read this quote today and it spoke quite deeply to me;

Sometimes when things are falling apart, they may actually be falling into place

This really spoke to me as like everyone else I have my own personal journey to walk within this global pandemic and as we’ve established in a previous blog, we may be in the same sea but we’re not in the same boat, right? We also have different personality types and these can often play a large role in our ‘personal reality’ . There is no room for judgement or shame as we consider who we are and how we respond to situations and people. YOU are who YOU are! Yes, we need to be open to grow so being aware of who you are and how you respond to people and situations is necessary for you to discover your authentic self and then ensure you are growing in line with your personal values. So a large part of becoming unstuck is having the courage to face yourself and acknowledge who you are OR who you’ve become. Life situations can change us and not always for the better. Painful life situations tend to only change us for the better if we let them. If we have the courage to face them and the emotions that they trigger within us. It can be painful and as humans our key motivations to change are to move towards pleasure or away from pain. But sometimes we need to face the initial pain to be free from it in the future and our ‘personal reality’ can change.

Here in the UK our Government has begun to outline our exit plans as the Lockdown rules begin to lift. At this stage, we, none of us know how this is going to work out. We can only hope and pray that as we step into this next season that, as the quote above says, that things in our lives will actually start to fall into place. I obviously do not know how this last years pandemic has affected you personally. No-one truly does, apart from you, and that’s ok. It may seem glib to say it’s ok, when in reality when bad stuff happens, it’s really NOT ok, but it is a part of life. But you do have to come to a place of acceptance that this IS where you are right now and as difficult as it is you are stronger than you think and you will find a new way forward. So, here are a few helpful tips that do increase your sense of well-being.

If you’re really struggling with depression during this time, for reasons that may not be related to lockdown at all but have been exacerbated by it then I really do appreciate that doing ANY of the things on the list will be difficult. So for you I would say, please be gentle and kind to yourself and take each day as it comes. Yes one of the ways we can change the way we feel and our state of mind is by doing something that breaks a pattern of behaviour, but depending on where you’re at, you might need to be at peace with your small achievements as feeling bad about what you haven’t done will not work for you, at all!! So let’s have a look at the tips and do what you can do to help yourself, and be your own best friend. Only YOU can truly help YOU, but YOU have to acknowledge where YOU are at, ok?

• Stop and breathe and give yourself time to reflect ~ consider quiet meditation.
• If any unsettling emotions come up then have the courage to look at them and consider EFT Tapping & prayer to work through them (see a previous blog on EFT).
• Seek out the resources you need to support your journey, such as guided relaxations, music, online information or support.
• Reach out to family and friends for support or a listening ear ~ a problem shared really is a problem halved.
• If you can’t reach out to family and friends then reach out to support groups or other local groups. Or even book to see a counsellor, a therapist or a life coach.
• Limit your alcohol consumption. I’m not trying to be a killjoy but alcohol only masks and numbs how you’re feeling, which, yes, does seem to help at the time but can create a shed load of other problems.
• Get out into nature and take those walks and breathe in the beauty of God’s creation.
• Try to revisit a hobby you once loved or start a new one and lose yourself in the creativity.
• Watch or listen to something that makes you laugh and release those happy endorphins.
• Remember that your gut health and diet plays a big part in your moods and overall well-being.
• Look at your sleep hygiene and actually do what you know you need to do to aid a restful sleep.
• And of course the list would not be complete without mentioning exercise. We really all do need to take some form of daily exercise to become unstuck and healthier.

I’ve told many of you nothing that you don’t already know but sometimes we can know something but not do anything about what we know. So maybe there’s one thing in the list that you heard yourself say “yes, I already know that” but you haven’t done anything about it yet. Well, let’s start there!

As always, love and blessings to you all, and I’ll see you next week, Sam xx