LEAD BOLDLY: It’s crazy out there

I don’t know about you, but this feels like the nosiest and most turbulent week I can remember. That is except for all of spring 2020.

We can do this. We can swim through the noise. We can meet the challenges and overcome them. But only if we take care of ourselves so we can care for our teams, families and communities.

Here is a list of strategies to build our resilience, our capacity to bounce back.

1. Stick to a schedule. It doesn’t need to look like your old schedule but having one and a routine around it can help you create your new normal. It could be M-F, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. but could also be 6 a.m.-8 a.m., 10 a.m.-noon, and 8 p.m.-11 p.m.
2. Create space. Avoid back to back Zoom calls. It’s so hard on your eyes, your brain and your psyche. Before you would walk to another office or go to another building. Try working 50-minute hours with space between things.
3. Set boundaries. Boundaries about when we are and aren’t working. Boundaries about what others can expect of us. Setting clear expectations helps us maintain relationships and protect our time so we aren’t always working.
4. Remember you are not what you do. Contrary to how we often live in our culture, don’t get confused. What you do is just part of who you are. You are also not your bank account. What you do and your bank account may be changing, but you are essentially the you that you were in February. The you that you have always been. Your value is inherent.
5. Limit media consumption. It’s fine to watch the news. Once. But not over and over. Our brains think things are happening over and over. And we get anxious.
6. Turn off screens. At least an hour before bed and ideally charge them somewhere else. The blue light keeps us awake and games and apps are designed to hook us. How much time have you mysteriously lost on Facebook?
7. Breathe and hydrate. Deep, long belly breaths. When you fill your lungs, you stimulate your vagus nerve which reduces anxiety by activating your relaxation response. Stress and anxiety release adrenaline and cortisol and other hormones that help us in flight or fight situations. But most of us are not facing a physical opponent but a mental, spiritual or emotional one. We need to clear all those hormones. Drinking lots of water is how.
8. You are what you eat. Just about all of us have been tempted to eat a pint of ice cream or have an extra glass of wine since we aren’t going anywhere. And once in a while, it’s fine. But in general, do your best to eat a healthy rainbow and limit substance use.
9. Get moving. The gym is great but so is dancing to your favorite playlist, working out with your favorite online yogi, or going for a walk. Sometimes, you don’t need to think it through, you need to move it out.
10. Connect safely. Maybe that is sharing meals over zoom or playing games with House Party. Or even going for a physically-distanced walk with a friend. We are social creatures and need connection.
11. Practice Gratitude. Every day find something for which you are grateful. It doesn’t have to be big or sappy. It can be that the sun was shining or you didn’t burn dinner, or that you child gave you a dandelion. But focusing on what is good shifts your perspective.
12. Give to others. Giving to others helps give meaning to our days. Calling a friend who lives alone, contributing funds to a front-line organization, sharing your talent over video all make the world better and keep your focus forward.

Let me know what’s working and what’s not. How you are faring while you do this?