The world is on pause and my experience of its exhale has for moments left me breathless. While I have teetered equally on the sides of both heartbreak and hope, I am certain that we have all been presented with a call to action that is ripe with a common theme of reinvention in one form or another.
Whether you have become a savvy toilet paper aquiring strategest, a local life line helping vulnerable members of your community or simply a newly minted superhero who has developed the powers of invisibility while living in a packed household of people - ALL of this has required reinvention. Uncertainty is never something I have ever heard anyone ask for, and in fact is one thing that most of us fight against. It has definitely left me at times feeling like a nervous squirrel, running in all directions making plans - then forgetting where I hid my nuts. As a small business owner, caregiver and mother with a daughter off to university next year - this timing is bat-shit crazy for my family however we recognize the non-negotiable need to get centred and REINVENT.
The restlessness of the mind does not allow for thoughtful decision-making and in fact hinders the very things we are working so tirelessly to protect ourselves from.
Uncertainty opens us up to lessons we need to learn in order to find more freedom, greater contentment and deeper inner peace through the acts of flexibility and surrender. Behaviours that reinforce rigidity, negative self-talk, a false sense of control and criticism do not get you further faster - although can easily become a default.
Like me, I know some of you are concerned about their kids, jobs, health, finances, businesses, political leadership and personal situations that are as unique as each perspective. Yet I am compelled to present that our shared experiences around the world are perhaps gifting each one of us - in a collective fashion - with an opportunity for reflection, renewal and reinvention.
My reinvention came to me in a number of ways over the past week that challenged thresholds of my comfort levels, technical abilities and preconceived notions on what I thought I knew to be true. Noting my avoidance of social media, flexibilty with shared home workspace and altering of personal routine (just to name a few).
Is it time for you to pause and consider some reinvention?
Over the past week I have witnessed all spectrums of this change curve. From those who are relentlessly resisting and jamming that "square peg into the round hole" to those who are using creativity and surrender as the vehicle to transform and thrive. Life as we know it has at least for a time, changed.
Here are a few questions for you to consider:
How are you being called to adjust and reinvent? At home, at work....
How has your need for creativity, surrender and flexibilty changed?
What have you noticed you need more or less of to feel content?
What are you craving to reclaim a sense of balance and health?
Where are you placing your sense of control each day? Internal and external?
How are you connected with the world and people in it?
Reinvention is a process and is not achieved over night. However we have been given a beautiful invitation to really pause and reflect - intimately - to examine things that are important. To marinade in our own private spaces to freely experience a temporary pause around the world - something like a interpersonal brown out.
So - rather than honing your ability to complain about the news, criticize what cannot be changed right now or whine about quarantines and social distancing...be productive and look at yourself. Really look and be the architect of your own life.
❤️ FREEBIE ALERT! To help you through this I have created a worksheet to help guide you called How to Change a Day. This has been developed based on the foundations on changing limiting beliefs through NLP (neuro-linguistic programming). At this time the autodownload function and I are not understanding each other, so for the time being please email me at chantell@prismhealingcentre.com to receive a copy.
Here are a few do's and do nots to get you started:
The Do's
Buy only what you need and listen to public health - Please. We all want to stay healthy so please stay home and purchase only what you need. There is plenty to go around.
Get outside and take a walk - breath in the fresh air deeply and get your body moving
Get creative and invent - take the time to do something you have always wanted to do but never seem to have the time
Listen to music without distraction - too often we listen to music while doing something else. Choose a great album, sit back and just LISTEN to it.
Sleep!
Eat only when you're hungry - boredom can create a 'false' appetite so schedule your meals and stick to a plan.
Spend quality VIRTUAL time with friends and family - FaceTime, Skype, Zoom all offer wonderful solutions to stay connected
The Do NOT's
Troll the news for constant updates - Schedule time once a day to understand what is relevant to the situation however resist the temptation of 'lingering' in the news. It can become all encompassing and toxic.
Over imbibe, this isn't a vacation - Data is already showing that alcohol consumption is on the rise since virus protocols have started.
Binge on Netflix for hours and days - Everyone loves a good Netflix binge...although there is too much of a good thing. Sitting that long, allowing your mind to become dull and eating without thinking does not lead to anything good. Please set limits on how much television and your loved ones consume each day.
Use online shopping as a form of entertainment - requires no explanation....
Stay inside and sit all day - Emotions are held in the hips...nothing flows when you sit. Get up, move around, get outside
Disturb your routine - Keep regular times and regular schedules. Allow your body to enjoy predictable times for meals and sleep as it keep your immune system strong and your body and mind well rested.
What is your next reinvention? Please leave a comment and share how you are reinventing yourself - we are all in this together and I would love to know more about how this pause is inspiring change for you.
Wishing you all peace, health and an abundance of light 🌈
~Chantell
Chantell Tunney, RHC, C.Ht., MNLP, DSHomMed
With over 20 years of clinical experience in health and mental wellness, I specialize in facilitating the removal of the limiting beliefs and negative emotions that get in the way of living life to its fullest expression.
As a board certified clinical Hypnotherapist, Master NLP Practitioner and registered Health Coach I integrate a variety of tools and techniques that support lasting change. To complement my practice, I draw from my experience as both a healthcare executive and clinician.
In addition to private practice I work with corporate clients and community partners as a facilitator, educator, speaker and writer specializing in using communication and self-awareness as the buiding blocks for inevitable success.
Comments