Happy New Year!

Time to read: 25 seconds

If you're like me, it takes a minute to get in the groove of the new year. I always feel a little sad about the passing of Christmas, time with family, the quiet and downtime of the holidays.

I'm still not landed in 2024. Kids are still home from college. Work is ramping up this week. Getting back to the gym. Taking steps toward a routine.

These first few weeks of January are a period of transition for many of you. (Some of you may feel like 2024 shot out like a rocket, and you're fully landed. If that's the case, awesome!)

It's ok to be in transition. Simply acknowledging that's where you are making the discomfort easier and smoother to move through.

What do you do when you still feel discombobulated? Get into action. Don't spend a lot of time thinking or wallowing. Take action to build your regular routine. Just get yourself to the gym. Make regular meals. Clean. Do the activities that help you feel grounded.

In the familiar phrase, Just Do It.

You'll feel landed in 2024 in no time.

Happy New Year!

 

Challenge #2: Nourish Your Body

Time to read: 45 seconds to read. Doing this challenge will give you time

Welcome to week 2 of your Summer challenge!

I hope you enjoyed your first challenge - choosing EASE. (If you missed last week and want to understand the goal and structure of this challenge, scroll down to the P.P.S. for more info.)

Here is your second challenge.

Nourish your body. For many years, I was so involved in my work, I forgot to eat. By evening, I was starving and depleted. This routine became a habit until one day I wondered if I needed to feel this crappy.

Guess what? You don't. The solution is easy,

Eat

So, for this week's challenge, you have some options, all of which involve eating. If you skip breakfast, try adding something to your morning - toast, an egg, fruit. My husband discovered overnight oats and eating those every morning has profoundly changed how my body feels all day.

If you skip lunch, commit to eating during the day.

You are a human with a body and your body needs fuel. So, this week, eat consistently and see how you feel.

If you're already feeling refreshed, please invite your friends and colleagues to join you. All they have to do is sign up for this newsletter to be part of the fun. They can sign up here.

If you have something you'd like me to address in this challenge, please reach out. Tell me the thing you'd like to shift, and I'll add a challenge tailored for you (and you can bet others need it, too!).

P.S. If you love this challenge, your friends and colleagues will, too. Share this link with them so they can join us!

P.P.S. Each week, an easy challenge will arrive in your inbox. Each activity/change/new perspective will be easy to implement alongside your regular life, meaning you don't have to buy special equipment or add to your mental load.

You may already be doing some of the things. Some may be new. You may choose to do some and not others. You might do some for one day and repeat others until they integrate into habits.

I encourage you to do as many as you can to get the most out of this experience. You have a week to practice and some will stick with you all summer and perhaps forever.

Many small shifts over the course of the summer will add up to profound change - healthier habits, feeling good in your body, and a calmer mind.

 

OMG! Today Deserves More Than One Sentence

I'm breaking from my one-sentence commitment because the past 24 hours warrant more than three words.

Like all of you, I watched the news in horror last night.

The TV news was blaring as I made shepherd's pie for my family. The electoral college vote resumed while I was in a virtual college counseling meeting for my high school junior. I caught up on the news before retiring to bed at 10:00.

It's a weird juxtaposition to be eating salad while members of congress are swept out of their chamber to undisclosed locations.

This morning, I walked my dogs, listened to news podcasts and thought about what to say. Three words came to mind:

  1. Attention: Pay attention. Witness what is happening. Let your emotions move through you. Last night, I wanted to eat bread and ice-cream and disappear. Numbing is not the answer. Keep your eyes open. Stay awake and conscious. See the world out there and yourself in here.
  2. Equanimity: Equanimity is the state of mental calm and a strong core, even in the face of extreme difficulty. In my morning meditation today, our teacher talked about "strong back, soft front," the combination of equanimity and compassion. Find your inner calm in the midst of the chaos. Your world needs your steady presence.
  3. Routine: Daily life must continue. You are a powerful human. You can handle complexity. You can do hard things. You can still eat salad and walk your dog. Routine brings comfort and like the United States Congress who got back to work within hours of personal terror, routines and rituals mean something. You can stand on the bedrock of your routines when your inner and outer world feel shaky.

I certainly don't profess to have all the answer in the midst of a complicated and painful situation.

And, I hope this is helpful.