When The Coach Needs A Coach

When I was younger, I use to think that authority figures or experts had it all together. They seemed to know all the right things to do. As I developed more of a sense of self, I realized people have different things together and we all need help at one time or another.

Normally, I am strong in holding together my health routine and executing my basic responsibilities. There are certain times I get thrown off but I am usually able to pull it together.  Recently, I was blessed to marry off my second oldest son and attend the wedding of my favorite (and only) brother, about a week later.  Between travel arrangements to bring another son home from Israel, my daughter in from upstate New York for 2 weddings and being an active planner and participant in both weddings, I had a hard time keeping the routine.

I was careful with what I ate and made sure to swim or walk daily, but I didn't have time to really check my emails, research and learn new things and blog.  I was cut off from social media and was interacting with family instead.  This was good for me because I felt like I was immersed in this experience. Sleep was difficult to get because I was very involved with so many things, but overall I felt okay.

Then, it was all over and I had to catch up on old emails, correspondence and tasks. Feeling incredibly overwhelmed and annoyed at myself for not being better prepared (my irritating perfectionist inner critic), I had a really hard time getting started between the somewhat large to do list and my judgmental mind.

In my really down state, I looked for some new lessons.  The first thing to do is ignore all the mind chatter. Second, pick one or two things that need doing.  Next, start just a small part of them with no intention of finishing them.  After doing this a couple times, things fell into place.

For example, my email inbox was horrendous (and it still is pretty bad). I set the goal of dealing with a days worth of email and for no more than 7 minutes.  As I got started by investing some time, I could do much more than 7 minutes. I even felt motivated to get more done.

The moral is just do one small step. The action will lighten the resistance and propel you forward.  It will also lead you to other efficient and effective action.  Once I was less nervous about my to do list, I realized how I was tired from this jam packed month.  My negativity wasn't just sloth and poor planning, there was a physical component.  Holistically, we are both body and spirit.  If my spirit is down, it can come from my mind but my body state can weigh down my spirit too. It is important to be conscious of the holistic model when trying to move past difficult situations.

Stay healthy & well,
Lisa