“Like a deer in the headlights, frozen in real time and I’m losing my mind, it’s time to move on.”
– Tom Petty
Dear Readers,
Since mid-March, I have constantly had a “deer in the headlight” feeling. I am frozen. Life feels like it is on hold. Every day information rolls toward me…. the phone, the news, television, tweets, family, friends, even individuals who are not friends, have stories, news, or dramatic opinions and it goes on and on and on.
It’s August; my birth month. Suddenly I realize almost half a year is wasted by being too frozen and unclear. It’s time to move on. But how do you do that, when the world is still in a pandemic and the outcome uncertain?Here are four steps that I am taking to start moving.
- Create a routine – In the last five months, my routine has been “no routine”. With no gym, no yoga studio, no social dinners or outings and working remotely, all the structure disappeared. There are dozens of on-line references about how a routine successfully helps productivity, time management, and mental health. Recently, I created a routine and while it is too early to know if it will accomplish all the things bragged about in articles; it helps to have a structure. Andit is nice to know where you are going.
- Take Baby Steps– “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step” (from Chapter 64 of the Dao De Jingascribed to Laozi). Take the projects, goals or visions that you have and break them into small chunks that fit into your routine. For example, one of my goals is to write an eBook. I took that goal, and broke it into 15 steps, beginning with – write an outline to the final step of publishing the eBook. I put this into my routine. Suddenly, my goal does not seem so daunting and the feeling of being frozen is gone.
- Start something new – Find something new to learn or do. It’s fun and motivating.
- Fight “Covid Fatigue” – Wearing a mask, washing my hands, social distancing and all the common sense things to prevent the spread of this disease are needed, every day, every situation. It has turned into a marathon, not a sprint to do these things and not get weary of the task. I constantly remind myself to stay disciplined, for myself, my family and anyone I meet. It is the right thing and the compassionate thing to do.
