Find a positive anchor
Perhaps now the days are feeling REALLY long and every time you look at the clock only a few minutes have passed and you’re not quite sure how to survive and get to the end of the day. That’s OK and it’s normal to feel this way. Our perception of time has changed and we are no longer saying, “I can’t do that, I don’t have time” as we suddenly have an abundance of time with not a lot of things we can fill it with.
It’s important throughout the day to find positive anchors to alter our state.
This could be something as simple as asking Alexa to play your favourite song and singing until your heart is content, or it could be telling the kids you’re going upstairs with a big mug of tea for 15 minutes (and some chocolate which you hide from them), whilst you pacify them with digital devices, books, puzzles or whatever else keeps them quiet for a short while. Whatever it is – find your anchor and make sure there are moments within the day where you do this.
Reframe your thoughts
Some of the beliefs that we used to hold so dearly aren’t going to serve us during this time. Maybe you really didn’t like your child watching too much TV but now it’s the go-to activity of the day. Or maybe you ate a certain way but now you are too tired to cook a healthy nutritious meal. Whatever it is – it doesn’t matter.
We are trying to survive something that we have never experienced and there’s a lot going on.
Not to mention people’s mental wellbeing and the fact that the coronavirus could well be triggering some previous trauma. Trying reframing the thoughts you are having. For example:
“I don’t like my child watching too much TV” can be replaced with ”I’m so grateful we live in times where my child can learn from educational programmes on TV all day.”
or
“I don’t usually eat like this” can be replaced with ”What a privilege it is to even eat at all. I’m going to make what I can with the resources I have – this won’t be forever.”
I hope some of these things help you during this time.
If you have any questions or would like any 1-1 support, please do reach out here. I’m offering my coaching calls for half the price and my 10-week coaching programme is at a discounted rate as I know some parents need additional support and accountability during times like these.
Being obsessed with self development and psychology, Fiona Ng took her desire to learn more about why we do what we do and qualified as an NLP Practitioner and later became qualified as a Parenting Coach with the Jai Institute of Parenting. She also holds a BA Hons Degree in Tourism Management and prior to becoming a mum was an Event Manager in the hospitality industry. You can find out more on her website and on her Instagram and Facebook pages.
