As you emerge blinking into the sunlight post lockdown, do you wonder if you might have lost your edge a little? All that free time and the slower pace to life may have left you feeling that you’re not quite up to speed any more.
Not at all – whether you know it or not, far from losing your spark, you have been benefiting from a unique opportunity to reflect on and evaluate how things were before. Now that you’re on your way back, you can make your new normal what you want it to be.
The area to consider making adjustments to first is your self view. If, for instance, you are driven and very ambitious at work, making sure that you fill every minute and find it hard to maintain your personal relationships, you may previously have been denying yourself time to reflect and discover how you really feel about a number of things. With a packed diary it is all too easy to avoid difficult conversations and situations, but without these there can be no resolutions and no opportunities to grow and to learn about what you and others really think and feel. Relationships need attention and so do you. The better you know yourself, the better partner or friend you will be. This applies equally to your family relations. Taking time out to be with yourself and no-one else will help you build your coping mechanisms too.
Alone at last. Now be kind to yourself. Acknowledge your strengths and importantly identify any weaknesses not as failings, but as areas for change. From this perspective you will be able to devise a plan detailing the steps you can take that would result in you feeling better, stronger and happier. Congratulate and reward yourself as you implement your chosen changes. This is valuable work and an excellent use of your time. If you do this really well you’ll find that over a period life will start feeling richer and less daunting. Now you’re ready to look for love.
That’s Step 1. Step 2 will cover what you might do next. There are no deadlines here, so beware of setting any for yourself. This will take the time it takes!
Karen X
