Like many of you, the coronavirus has served as a wake-up call to relentlessly protect my own health while also being vigilant to do what I can to not inadvertently put someone else’s health at risk. Roger and I work from home, and feel very fortunate that we don’t need to make any major changes to our schedules. I realize this isn’t the case for most, and I have tremendous compassion for the many business owners, employers, employees, parents, and everyone else faced with incredibly hard choices right now. It’s not an easy time, and we need to work collectively to do what we can to prevent the spread of this virus, to “flatten the curve”, as they put it.
Here is the order in which I am doing things, and perhaps this will resonate with you, too. First, I am prioritizing my own health. Why? Because, as the saying goes, the best defense is a good offense. I am much more useful to my family, my community, and society at large, if I do not become one of the people infected. I’m getting my sleep, reducing my stress, hydrating with water, nourishing my body with whole foods, and exercising daily including at least one nature walk (solo or with Roger only). I realize that I simply must do everything I can to keep my immune system strong in order to ward off the virus entirely or else be able to clear it if I do become infected.
Next, I am practicing “social distancing”. Why? Because although I’m not concerned about my own ability to fight off the virus if I do become infected, I realize that the elderly or those with compromised immune systems do not have the luxury of this security. I stay away to keep others safe.
Whenever I do need to venture out, I keep to myself and return home quickly. I’m not even visiting my own mother who lives only minutes away from me. That said, I have offered to pick up any groceries and necessities and drop them off at her door, say a quick hello (from 6 feet away), before I head back home.
I wash my hands after touching anything that is communal, and I avoid touching my face.
I remain calm because I realize that stress dampens my immune system and I need it to be functioning optimally right now.
I don’t spread any posts or articles about the coronavirus that aren’t rooted in science, and I remind people that the most important thing we can do is to protect our own health–mental, emotional and physical.
It’s certainly not an easy time in history, and we’re all managing this crisis the best way we know how. I’m listening to the experts who are asking, begging, pleading, imploring us to take precautions and to take it seriously. This is not the same as panicking. Panic causes stress, and, again, I need to stay as calm as I can if I am to boost my own immunity. To me, remaining calm while being vigilant aren’t mutually exclusive. In fact, my sense of calm is rooted in my vigilance; by doing everything I can to protect my own and others’ health, I can relax, breathe, do the next right thing.
If you’ve been with me for a while, you’ll know that I treat every single experience in my life as a lesson. I fully believe that everything in my life has been placed there on purpose and the coronavirus has caused me to ask myself, “What if we could see this experience as something…more? Perhaps as an invitation to look deeper, to go within, to dream?
Something I teach my students in my OBAAT coaching program is the importance of taking time to dream; to get quiet and spend time really pondering what they want life to look like 5, 10, 30 years from now, and to begin to take some action steps–today–towards creating their “dream life”. The steps don’t have to be big; they just have to take them even a millimeter closer to where they want to go.
During this strange and challenging time, where we’re being asked to get a little quieter, what if we saw it as an invitation to go within? What if we took the next few weeks to re-evaluate our lives, take stock, and decide if we are happy with where things are headed?
If you’re able to shift your perspective and see this pandemic not only as a global health crisis but also as a personal wake-up call–an opportunity to ponder what you want to see more of in your life–then what people, places and things do you want to meet and see and create? Are there books to be written? Gardens to be grown? Classes to be taken? Careers to be explored? Hobbies to be undertaken? Places to experience? Relationships to cultivate?
As we get a little more quiet and a little more still, this virus might just become the breeding ground for us to do the things we’ve not had time to do; including to dream.
Dreaming isn’t about turning our backs on reality and pretending we aren’t faced with a crisis; it’s about taking this experience and finding something good inside. It’s about using it as the impetus for change in our lives that we’ve maybe not had the guts or the time to even consider before now.
It’s about taking this chance to evaluate…and to sift.
A DUI was my “rock bottom“; a precipice moment in my life, where I was left with only the bare minimum; but it was enough. Enough for me to get started. And from that place, I started to dream, and I’ve now spent over 18 years cultivating a life I no longer want to escape in a body that feels like HOME.
Perhaps the coronavirus will be your “rock bottom”, creating the foundation upon which your biggest dreams will be brought to life.
I want that for you and I want that for our world.
Because I want you to love your life one bite at a time.
P.S. If one of your dreams is to truly enjoy optimal health and wellness, I’d love to share the BEST of what I’ve been able to learn–and apply in my own life–over 18 years. It’s not too late to join the current round of my One Bite At A Time (OBAAT) Group Coaching program. We just started yesterday, so you have until the end of the week to jump in. Take the time you need, and if you say YES, you’ll be able to spend the next 3 months with me and a group of like-minded others seeking their best health and best life. PLUS, once you join ONE TIME, you get lifetime access to ALL future rounds of OBAAT for FREE. Many of my students have been with me since the beginning to keep dreaming bigger, going deeper, learning more, and connecting with more people. It’s all delivered online, so we can keep ourselves and others safe while still being part of something beautiful. It’s awesome. And we’d love for YOU to be a part of it.
Here is what Shani had to say about the program:
“I’ve been learning from Sarah Roberts for over a year now… and I find that I’ve learned so much… and I just continue to learn & grow, and I feel supported throughout it all by her.Baby steps… one after the other. And no, she doesn’t teach any latest diet fad. She teaches a way of living for optimal health… looking inwards at ourselves & our past to see where changes are required… and then helps to open our minds to looking at the present. ❤For now, I want to share her with you all. She’s also amazing in that, once you sign up once with her for her 12 week program, you can continue for as long as you’d like without any further fee!If you’re interested to know more, give her a shout & chat to see if you’re a fit. There’s no charge to that conversation. :)”
P.P.S. If you’d like to learn more about my work around food and sugar and body image, I did a live training called:“The Truth About Sugar and How To Live A Life Of Freedom Around Food.”
P.P.P.S. If you’d like to prioritize your health for 14 days, I’d love for you to sign up for my 14 Days of Wellness. Simply enter your name and email address up on the right to begin receiving the messages today. It’s FREE, with no diets, products, challenges or catches…just a chance to remember how amazing you are…for 14 days.
P.P.P.P.S. Let’s be friends! I’d love to connect on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram. Plus, if you haven’t already subscribed to my blog, you should! That way, you won’t miss anything. Plus, as a thank you for joining, you will receive my 14 Days of Wellness.
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