I am tired, how about you?

I have NOT started a new hobby, discovered a latent artistic talent or had endless meaningful family moments during this pandemic, and frankly it annoys me when I see those posts on social media. 

This is perhaps not very gracious of me, but I was too busy trying to navigate the rapid shift in my business model, show up for my coaching clients to the best of my ability, and navigating  Zoom with inconsistent internet while facilitating training online. Like everyone out there, the context I was working in changed dramatically, and I held on to my old expectations about how productive I could be and ways I wanted to grow my business this year. I can see how this frantic pivot has kept me hustling, and that is wearing me down.

I am tired. What about you? 

When we think about the massive systems change that occurred over the past 10 weeks at every level of society, it is truly a miraculous feat of change, innovation and survival. Our K-12 and post-secondary school systems have turned into online learning centres in weeks, our governments are churning out new subsidy programs and changing worksafe policies overnight, not to mention our local businesses and retailers who were closed and are now opening with new safety guidelines and protocols then never had to consider before. I am in awe of the leadership I see all around me right now. Leaders are redefining strategy, communicating with their people, engaging stakeholders and designing new procedures - instantaneously. This is miraculous, impressive and exhausting. I bet you’re tired. I am too. 

My heart aches for my friends and clients in the philanthropic sector. I see you carrying the burden of financial sustainability for your beloved charity and wanting to maintain relationships with donors and continue to meet your financial goals so that services continue and no one gets laid off.  I see you. You are not in this alone. You might be feeling tired. 

This is my call to all of us - me included.  Give yourself permission to rest, recover and reset. We are playing a long game now.  There’s more change to come, as we adapt to a contracted economy and new social codes and ways of being together that are unfamiliar, and frankly uncomfortable. The weeks and months ahead are going to continue to challenge us to think differently and manage our stress in healthy ways with new routines and habits. If our ways of working look different, then our patterns of rest, recover and reset need to look different too. 

Each of us is different, and I don’t have any magic answers for you. I trust that you will find your unique way of rest and reset that works for you. My goal is to name it and normalize it. We are tired and we need to stop the hustle and reset our expectations of self and recognize the load we are carrying mentally and emotionally. I am working on setting better boundaries for work spilling over into evenings and weekends, enjoying a guilt -free nap on the weekend, and trying to sit less and move more. Most of all, I am working on my inner narrative that tells me “I should be doing more”, and inviting in a new story that says “all is well, you have done enough”.  

My intention is to reset into a new pattern that will sustain me for the long game. I am in this with you and for you. I see you. I believe in you. We are in this together. 

• What is your favourite way to rest your body or mind? 

• When will you give yourself permission to rest? 

• What does resetting expectations look like for you? 

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