How I’m Coping
I’ll be honest with you: this has not been an easy week for me.
And I’m not just talking about trying to wrap my head around four more years of a Trump presidency.
No, this week has been challenging on the home and work front for me personally. So today I want to give you a peek behind the curtain to show you how I’m coping.
How I’m supporting and nurturing myself.
How I’m finding my way back to myself.
Even in stressful times.
Especially in stressful times.
I think it’s important for you to know that even as a trained coach, I don’t have all the answers. I don’t get it right all the time.
And also: it’s in the experience of not getting it right –
of snapping at someone I care about, stress eating chocolate before bed, avoiding what feels hard –
that I get to practice returning to Love.
Love for my family, for my community – but first and most importantly, love for myself.
So, yes – it’s been a very emotionally fraught week.
My kiddo has been struggling in some very big and real ways, which has been incredibly difficult to see. Making things even more challenging, as I tap into my Mama Bear energy and show up to support him, I’m also being confronted with a variety of emotions that his struggle is triggering in me:
Fear. Desperation. Anxiety. Rage. Helplessness. Irritation. Resolve.
These feelings need an outlet.
I’m proud to say there have been times over the past week where I’ve remembered the tools I have in my toolkit: journaling, stillness, walking, stretching, drinking water, crying, sleeping, sharing with someone I trust, and positive self-talk.
These practices have given my feelings a place to land, plugged me back into gratitude, and reconnected me with my worthiness as a human being who just happens to be living through an emotionally charged time.
Sometimes (ok, a lot of the time), however, I’ve forgotten these tools. Over the past week I’ve experienced many moments where I felt off-centered, untethered, and afraid. Where I’ve made choices that didn’t serve me or the people around me. Where I’ve lost track of Love for myself.
As a coach, I’ve been an up close witness to what it looks like to live authentically – and my reminder to you (and to me) is that living authentically doesn’t mean living perfectly.
There have been so many moments recently where I didn’t show up the way I would have liked. So many moments where I said the wrong thing, chose the wrong choice, turned away from my relationships, hid my vulnerability, escaped reality.
We all fall down. We all make mistakes. We all get met with challenges and struggles and emotionally-charged seasons.
What matters is what we do next.
When you notice yourself feeling off-centered, what do you do next?
When you notice yourself straying away from self-love, what do you do next?
One of my very wise and brave coaching clients sent me a voice memo the other day, and in it she said that her plan was this:
“Breathe, and do the next right thing.”
So that’s my reminder for you, and for me today:
Breathe. Then do the next right thing.
That’s how we cope. That’s how we grow. That’s how we live.
Onward,
PS: This is the time of year when many of us start to feel itchy and anxious about work and the directions our lives are heading in. Working with a coach to uncover your authentic path can ease your anxiety and open up your options for new opportunities to come in!
From November 30th - December 6th, I’m offering $500 off my 6 month coaching packages. We’ll meet every other week for conversations that help you discover who you are today, define what matters to you, imagine new possibilities and take aligned action to move you forward. If that sounds like the way you’d like to start 2025, I’d love to support you!
Learn more about coaching with me, and email me if you have any questions!