The Wagner “Stay Home” life this week:
- Click HERE to see my first “TikTok” with my daughter (I don’t fully understand what TikTok is or the hype it’s getting right now; all I know is that this was a joyful way to get lost in time).
- Click HERE to read the April 2020 TOPS Magazine article with my tips and guidance for navigating the stay-at-home life, as well as the range of feelings you might be experiencing during the pandemic. *Thank you for the great write-up, Dawn Anderson!
AND — my special bonus this week. While I know you got time – lol – to read this week’s post, I decided to record it, as well.
So, enjoy and you’re welcome.
Click the pink icon to listen:
Stay-at-home, Day 23
- “Only one adult per household will be allowed to go to the grocery store and other essential businesses under a new executive order issued by Governor Andy Beshear.” (also: “People shouldn’t treat shopping trips like a date night.”)
- Mayor Greg Fischer donned a face mask during his briefing to encourage Louisvillians to follow new CDC guidelines about wearing cloth masks in groceries and other public places when making essential trips outside the home.
That’s what’s going on in Kentucky as the pandemic makes its way into the inland states. Almost every day, an urging or an order is issued to keep us well and mitigate the spread of this horrible virus.
I check in with those resources and broadcasts each day to make sure my family is on top of it, and not just for my corner of the world, but for my city, and my country.
I think about this quote when I feel agitated, helpless or afraid:
People make choices. Choices make history.
My daily actions are informed choices. If I am well, I contribute to the health of everyone else. That’s what being a citizen means.
These choices we make are informed by our thoughts.
Standing across the street and yell-talking to your neighbor is an action.
Behind that action, whether you’re conscious of what your mind is telling you or not, is a thought that may forever be ingrained in all of our minds:
“Keep a social distance of at least six feet away from another person.”
Sometimes, when I have that thought, I feel almost startled into making sure I am doing what we need to do right now.
Sometimes, I feel frustrated, sad or even angry when I think about the social distancing.
Here are some other thoughts and feelings my clients have expressed this month (me, too):
- I feel trapped.
- I hate these limitations.
- How long can we go on with this kind of confinement?
Trapped.
Limited.
Confined.
People do not want to feel this way, but when we have unprecedented circumstances like this, the mind can go there.
But the mind doesn’t have to stay there, even when we’re facing limitations around physical and social space.
We might be living this way for a while, y’all. I know I don’t want to walk around with heavy, energy-draining feelings like that.
So what can we do that feels like freedom?
There are lots of actions I can suggest to you, but every action begins with a thought.
Every thought can be created on purpose (you. can. do. this.).
It starts with asking yourself something like this:
“If I could choose a feeling besides “trapped,” what would that be?
If you look up the definition of trapped, it will say something like: “cut off; imprisoned; restricted.”
HOWEVER, if you keep digging into the list of synonyms for trapped like I did — you’d find this word:
“Anchored.”
If you’ve been hanging out with me for a while, you know I love the power of words. One word can change everything. And yes, I kept going and got obsessed with “anchored.” Here’s what I found:
“A reliable support. Secure. A mainstay. Foundation. Pillar.”
DO THIS RIGHT NOW:
Say these sentences out loud … or write them down if you’re not in a place to do that (but it’s more powerful to speak them, I think):
- “I feel trapped.”
- “How long are we going to be confined?”
I just did it with you, and that didn’t feel too good. I wasn’t smiling, either.
You know where I’m going next, so let’s do it:
- “My home is a safe and secure place during these (pick one: stressful, confusing, frightening, upsetting) times.”
- “Being anchored at home, for now, might be the foundation for figuring out what my next chapter is … my job/career, finances, a creative project that I’ve always set aside, taking care of my health the way I’ve always said I’ve wanted to.
Saying those things feels like:
- Freedom
- Possibility
- Hope
- Open
Those are some of my favorite feelings — especially freedom.
We have never lived through anything like this — a collective experience that shut down the world and is tied into sickness and death.
You might think my little exercise is just semantics — like,” a word is just a word — it doesn’t change anything.”
You probably don’t want to hang out with me if you feel that way; because the way I work with my clients and how I live my life is grounded in the power of the human mind.
The pillars of the mind: your thoughts.
The foundation: your words.
Choose well.
Stay well.
Now — right now — is the perfect time to strengthen the foundation of your mind and the choices you’re making to build your life.
We WILL emerge from this crisis and take our next steps.
I’m helping women across the spectrum with job loss, home school overwhelms, inventing online streams of income, as well as my nurses on the front lines who are terrified to go to work each day, and witness the loss of human life in a way they never imagined.
We need each other; we’re going to get through this, and I am with you. I was born to do this.
Click HERE to hear me talk about different ways we can work together, OR use the following links and …
- Schedule a 30 minute S.O.S. session.
NOTE ~ In keeping with the pandemic protocol issued by the governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky, I will not be holding in-person sessions at my Louisville office until further notice.
All sessions will take place on the Zoom video platform.
If necessary, a phone session is an alternative option.
Are we connected online?
Let’s do it!
RIGHT NOW: We need to lean into community and connection now more than ever.
In my private, free Facebook community I mentioned earlier, Women On The MOVE, I am giving you just that.
Not only am I offering you coaching, connection, inspiration, and motivation — I am also posting resources for resilience, AND sharing my skills as a certified fitness professional.
The gyms may be closed, but you can access free, uplifting and effective workouts created just for you … by me.
The only way to access Women On The MOVE is to send a request:
Women On The MOVE – my private Facebook community
You can also find me at:
Facebook – Laura Wagner Life Coaching
Stay connected and stay well.
