Back in my marching band days, they had a saying: return to the fundamentals. If the drill started to look sloppy or the music sounded crappy, we went back to the basics for a while. Marching fundamentals. Scales. Study the music, measure by measure. Study the drill, move by move. You broke it down to the basic elements until you had a grasp of everything from the bottom to the top.
Rebuilding life after a setback is much the same. You have to return to the fundamentals to make sure your foundation is solid. There’s no way you can rebuild a stable life if YOU aren’t stable. There are three elements to firming up your foundation to build a new life on:
Spiritually. If you’re a person of faith, return to the roots. For me, that means being diligent about my daily Bible reading, devotions, watching the live stream of church services, and meditation. Every faith has some form of meditation in it’s practices, whether it’s Catholics praying a rosary, Protestants in their prayer time, yoga, or the mindful meditation of Eastern practices. Whatever it is for your faith, focus on that as your primary goal. Take at least 10 minutes out of your day for silent prayer, meditation, or reflection. The point is to empty your mind of all the “noise” and relax in the quiet presence of the present. There are many guides online to help you through this. And if you don’t have a particular faith that you follow, then meditation is a good practice to engage in for spiritual strength.
Mentally. You need to know where you’re at before you can find a path to where you want to be. Take stock of your life and consider:
What do you like about life? This lets you know what you’re grateful for, and what you’d like to keep.
What’s working? You need to know talents, strengths, and blessings you have to work with on this journey. As I often say: when life is smashed to pieces, you pick up the big, intact ones to start building a new mosaic.
What lessons have you learned so far? Is there anything you’ve discovered about your life or yourself that you didn’t know before COVID-19 turned the world inside out? This gives you insight to who you are, and where wisdom is leading you.
What would you like to change? Don’t worry about what you can control right now. Just name it. If it’s a circumstance, identify it. If it’s a trait or habit you have, name it. If it’s people or things that are a burr in your butt, name it. Throw out everything that’s frustrating or hurting you right now.
Physically. This is the same advice that everybody gives for everything. You need to eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, take your maintenance medications, and do anything your doctor has told you to do to stay healthy. You can’t live at your highest potential if you feel like crap. The thing is, not all things work for all people. There are lots of diets and exercise routines out there, and you need to know what’s right for you. And if you’re already on a diet or exercise program but it’s falling flat, it might be time to make some minor changes. Bicycle instead of walking or do some strength training instead of cardio a couple of days a week, for example. Explore more recipes for daily meals – for example, I’m eating more white meat due to the exhorbant prices of red meat these days. Small changes can make a big difference.
This is all elemental, but that’s the point. We need to make sure we’re rooting ourselves on solid ground before we start rebuilding a new reality. We’ve already hit the big chute. We don’t need to keep hitting the smaller ones on the way back up. So let’s start climbing.
I suggest using your journal to take stock of where you’re at with the questions above, and check out some digital books from Kindle Unlimited or the library to study up on faith, motivation, positive thinking, and proper self care. I don’t make specific suggestions here because different things work for different people, so browse around and see what looks right for you. This is a highly personal journey, so you need to fill yourself with inspiration that speaks to your soul. Deep down, you know what you need. Prayerfully (or meditatively) reflect on what speaks to your soul, and you’ll find it.
It’s a start, but that’s what’s important – getting started in a right direction. Next time, we’ll look at the vortex of emotions that are swirling in that brain, and figure out how to unravel the storm and find the direction we’re seeking.
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.
Bye!
Rebuilding life after a setback is much the same. You have to return to the fundamentals to make sure your foundation is solid. There’s no way you can rebuild a stable life if YOU aren’t stable. There are three elements to firming up your foundation to build a new life on:
Spiritually. If you’re a person of faith, return to the roots. For me, that means being diligent about my daily Bible reading, devotions, watching the live stream of church services, and meditation. Every faith has some form of meditation in it’s practices, whether it’s Catholics praying a rosary, Protestants in their prayer time, yoga, or the mindful meditation of Eastern practices. Whatever it is for your faith, focus on that as your primary goal. Take at least 10 minutes out of your day for silent prayer, meditation, or reflection. The point is to empty your mind of all the “noise” and relax in the quiet presence of the present. There are many guides online to help you through this. And if you don’t have a particular faith that you follow, then meditation is a good practice to engage in for spiritual strength.
Mentally. You need to know where you’re at before you can find a path to where you want to be. Take stock of your life and consider:
What do you like about life? This lets you know what you’re grateful for, and what you’d like to keep.
What’s working? You need to know talents, strengths, and blessings you have to work with on this journey. As I often say: when life is smashed to pieces, you pick up the big, intact ones to start building a new mosaic.
What lessons have you learned so far? Is there anything you’ve discovered about your life or yourself that you didn’t know before COVID-19 turned the world inside out? This gives you insight to who you are, and where wisdom is leading you.
What would you like to change? Don’t worry about what you can control right now. Just name it. If it’s a circumstance, identify it. If it’s a trait or habit you have, name it. If it’s people or things that are a burr in your butt, name it. Throw out everything that’s frustrating or hurting you right now.
Physically. This is the same advice that everybody gives for everything. You need to eat right, exercise, get enough sleep, take your maintenance medications, and do anything your doctor has told you to do to stay healthy. You can’t live at your highest potential if you feel like crap. The thing is, not all things work for all people. There are lots of diets and exercise routines out there, and you need to know what’s right for you. And if you’re already on a diet or exercise program but it’s falling flat, it might be time to make some minor changes. Bicycle instead of walking or do some strength training instead of cardio a couple of days a week, for example. Explore more recipes for daily meals – for example, I’m eating more white meat due to the exhorbant prices of red meat these days. Small changes can make a big difference.
This is all elemental, but that’s the point. We need to make sure we’re rooting ourselves on solid ground before we start rebuilding a new reality. We’ve already hit the big chute. We don’t need to keep hitting the smaller ones on the way back up. So let’s start climbing.
I suggest using your journal to take stock of where you’re at with the questions above, and check out some digital books from Kindle Unlimited or the library to study up on faith, motivation, positive thinking, and proper self care. I don’t make specific suggestions here because different things work for different people, so browse around and see what looks right for you. This is a highly personal journey, so you need to fill yourself with inspiration that speaks to your soul. Deep down, you know what you need. Prayerfully (or meditatively) reflect on what speaks to your soul, and you’ll find it.
It’s a start, but that’s what’s important – getting started in a right direction. Next time, we’ll look at the vortex of emotions that are swirling in that brain, and figure out how to unravel the storm and find the direction we’re seeking.
That’s all today. Take care, and have a great week.
Bye!
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