In uncertain times like these, there’s something that’s absolutely certain: we’re here for you.
In light of the dark that’s going on, we want to help get your thoughts and actions back on track, if they’ve understandably gone off road. We are here to figuratively hold your hands, virtually have your back, and maybe just maybe, make you smile, if even a smidgeon. No small feat. We know. But here goes…
Here are five things to remember if you’re a human and/or you’re working from home:
1. Tell the voices in your head (particularly the voice of fear who, by now, has watched, read and/or listened to enough news to think it has its medical degree) to pipe down.
We really do have a say over what our mind says.
Even during normal times, we’re not that wise as to how often we go dark. Not to mention the fact that we have little clue as to where our (inner) light switch is.
Imagine NOW!!
You’ve heard the stats: according to science, the average human has about 12,000 to 60,000 thoughts per day. Of those thoughts, 80% are NOT ONLY negative, 95% of them are also the exact same thoughts as the day before. No wonder so many of us have such a hard time imagining our highest ideals/dreams for ourselves, LET ALONE curating the thoughts we want to be having in the face of a pandemic.
HOWEVER, please, please remember, the minute we’re willing to catch a negative inner thought, it’s our higher self bearing witness. Please hear it. Please get a megaphone for your higher self. And by all means, please revoke your voice of fear’s medical license!
While you’re at it, question your theories and fight the fight to NOT believe your own hype.
A theory is when you have an opinion or are speculating about something and, subconsciously, you’re collecting evidence to prove it. Like, “you’re unlucky, a.k.a. what was that tickle in your throat?,”“you’re not good with time,” “you’ll go stir crazy at home,” “you need X, Y, and Z to be productive,” “you have to workout at a gym,” etc. Can you see, those particular theories influence the actions you take or don’t take when it comes to your productivity, time management, and your health/body?
Good news, your theories are not hard-wired. YOU created them. They are based on experience, observations, and learning since you were a baby and/or since you binge watched CNN the other day and/or everyday. In other words, don’t believe your hype! We dare you to disprove your own theories. By all means, debunk them. Hurry.
Speaking of hype, watch the news…as in WATCH OUT for it.
Of course, be well informed. Just ALWAYS remember, the news is out to not only inform you, BUT keep you watching. Its impetus is to keep you inside, sucked in, and captivated (yes, captive is in that word). The worse the news is, the better it is…for THEM. For us — the can’t help but slow down to see the accident on the other side of the highway — not so much.
2. Design your day, and, yes, that means…design your quarantine!
At HG, we teach clients many, many, many things. Today, we’re going to show you how to design your day. Yes, even (especially!) from home.
Every morning, before your day even unfolds you are going to write what we call a Designed Day (DD). What you put in your daily design is an accounting of how you want your best day to unfold, equipped with attitude and aspirations. You write it in the past tense, as if it’s already happened.
Your DD could go something like this:
Did a kick ass workout. Best yet.
Led an amazing Zoom call.
Supported my colleagues.
Told my inner-doomer to quiet down.
Came up with the perfect plan to maximize this shit storm. Was wildly productive. Finished the five items on my to-do sheet.
Got 30 more Instagram followers.
Set up 4 video dates.
Yes, finally listened to HG re: above.
Proud of myself.
Why not?! It is YOUR day, after all.
Once crafted, you are going to send your DD to a group of your nearest and dearest who will hold you accountable for it. Not only does this practice of designing your day keep you connected to your fellow stuck-at-homies, it has you at the source of your day’s creation and not simply acting in response to it.
As the author of our lives (even if our story, without question, has taken a strange turn), we get to end our day, powerfully too. You know what you did and didn’t do so you can set yourself up for the next day. Everyone who is reading your daily designs also knows exactly how you did, and you know exactly how they did.
3. While you’ve got time, why not work on your relationship with TIME.
Do you two need marriage counseling?
Put everything into your calendar. Yes, every last thing.
There are 24 hours in a day – that is it. Everything you want to do in the day has to fit in the day. Your calendar is your time accountant. It never lies! It always tells you exactly what is possible, what will happen, and what will not happen. If you try to keep it all in your head or even just a few things in your head in hopes “you’ll find the time”… how well do you think that will go? Magic is totally possible with time, however, for now, know the math still has to add up.
Be realistic and tell the truth (oh, that!).
Many of us are either overestimating and underestimating the amount of time something actually takes. Get more accurate about how long things actually take. Time yourself. Adjust your calendar accordingly.
4. Visit the promise land. (No flights necessary.)
No doubt, if you know us at all, you’ve heard us talk about one of the cornerstones of our methodology, Personal IntegrityⓇ. We’ve even gone so far as to call it the secret sauce to happiness, personal pride, and confidence.
It is. Even in these unsettling times.
Personal Integrity is the ability to make and keep a promise to yourself that is a match with your dreams. It is the alignment of your heart (your desires), your mind (your plan), and your body (your actions).
Most of us think we have it, we’re great at it, and pride ourselves in it. But, let us ask you something: Did you ever notice that when it comes to keeping a promise to someone else, you’re pretty good at it? I mean, if you say to your boss, “I’ll meet you on Zoom at 3:00 pm,” you don’t mean, if nothing better comes up. BUT, when it comes to keeping a promise to yourself, like, “I will send out X resumes, reach out to Y number of people, blog monthly, and exercise 3x a week,” you are more than willing to excuse yourself from what you said you’d do, so long as you feel guilty about it. In fact, the more guilty you feel about not keeping your promises, the better a person you are, right? After all, you had good intentions. You really wanted to workout, but there’s a pandemic out there and you don’t really enjoy riding the Peloton you got for Christmas (and rode until New Year’s).
In order for you to truly start to care about your own integrity, let alone develop it, you have to FIRST see how LAST you’ve been on your own list. You have to get annoyed with the fact that you keep promises to everyone EXCEPT yourself. And not only that, you’d have to see what a crime it’s been to your happiness, let alone your dreams.
Even your new, forced, stay-at-home dreams.
How do we help you get HONESTly happy and make (and keep) promises to yourself? Good question. See below.
5. Find us.
Remember, when the world’s gone crazy, we’re here to keep you crazy proud and support you any which way we can. No, we’re not virtual doctors. But we do have a little neurologist (we help you curate your thoughts), proctologist (we deal with your but, but, but), and ophthalmologist (we help you see your highest visions for yourself) in us. Yes. We’ve got a “PhD” in YOU.
Please trust us. We’ve got you. Let us help you human better when the world isn’t necessarily complying (to say the least!), from wherever (read: HOME), whenever (read: NOW).
Here’s a few ways we are available to support you right now:
- Free Daily Coaching Call with Laurie Gerber – for a limited time during these wild times. Open to anyone!
- Inner.University bootcamp with Hildie starting March 26th, for Inner.U LIFE subscribers. Get HALF OFF for a limited time using code POSITIVELYPOSITIVE75.
- Inner.U LIFE or LOVE. Sign up here!
- Hire a private coach!
Lauren Handel Zander is the Co-Founder and Chairwoman of Handel Group®, an international corporate consulting and life coaching company. Her coaching methodology, The Handel Method®, is taught in over 35 universities and institutes of learning around the world, including MIT, Stanford Graduate School of Business, NYU, and the New York City Public School System. Lauren is also the author of Maybe It’s You: Cut the Crap, Face Your Fears, Love Your Life (Published by Hachette Book Group, April 2017), a no-nonsense, practical manual that helps readers figure out not just what they want out of life, but how to actually get there. She has spent over 20 years coaching thousands of private and corporate clients, including executives at Vogue, BASF, and AOL. Lauren has been a featured expert in The New York Times, BBC, Forbes, Women’s Health, Dr. Oz, and Marie Claire and she is a regular contributor to Businessweek and the Huffington Post. Click here to schedule a 30-minute consultation with Handel Group.
Image courtesy of Roberto Nickson.
