This Year.
I'll never forget the first week in quarantine.
It felt surreal. But also a little bit exciting. "Oooooh hell yeah, working from home! I meditated, I did yoga. I cooked my way through Pamela Salzman's cookbook." I was practically the Tim Ferris of setting good habits, testing new routines and overall kicking ass in this new normal.
Cut to June. Which if it were a Seinfeld episode would be called, "The One Where We Waited for the Other Shoe to Drop." And like in Seinfeld...nothing happened. We had clients. We were surviving. Just with an extra layer of fear.
And just like in real life, I keep trying to find something new to watch. But it's only reruns of, "The One Where We Waited for the Other Shoe to Drop." Rinse, repeat.
I hold on to hope that we have turned a corner. That the vaccine is on the way. That there will eventually be a peaceful transition of power in our country. But the 24 hour news cycle is seriously bad for your health.
If you have feelings of despair—whether about your business, about your future, about life in general right now, I wrote this for you. To tell you that you are not alone.
Has my business been impacted? That would be putting it mildly. Do I have days where I don't want to get out of bed? Yup, that too.
But then I pick myself up and live to die another day. The below things have helped me on my worst days. They hit all the notes: actionable, practical, mindful, spiritual.
"There are years that ask questions and years that answer."
To better days ahead,
Molly
1. Cancel unused subscriptions.
When things feel out of control, it helps to focus on things you CAN control. What I was spending on random apps to filter photos—and Lord knows what else—would feed a small country. I wasn't using half of them! Sure you can look through credit cards, but also check your iPhone subscriptions in the Apple store. Even saving $25/month right now made me feel better.
2. Update your website.
For most people, this task always gets pushed down the to-do list. Rewrite your About page, add press clips, update your bio. It is something you can do when you don't know what else to do.
3. Complete the stress cycle.
There's a fantastic interview on Brene Brown's podcast about how we are all feeling emotional exhaustion, and what we can do about it. They offer easy solutions to help you avoid burnout and what to do when you experience it. Things as simple as going for a walk, dancing around your house, and breathing in and out for a full minute and a half. Sounds simple, but it's powerful.
4. Ride or die.
I have found that calling life long friends who I haven't talked to in ages has really helped me during this pandemic. Friends that knew me in my 20s, that knew me in high school, the friends that you know would come bail you out of jail at 3am even if you hadn't seen each other in 20 years. Friends that don't give two sh*ts how much money you make, what your career is, or how many followers you have on Instagram. Call those people. You will feel better and likely more like yourself.
5. Rest. That's all!
There's a fantastic interview with Rha Goddess on Marie TV about finding your purpose. In it, she talks about journaling in the morning. Sometimes when she feels lost, she will write, "What should I do?" And then she stops and will listen for the answer. More times than not the answer is, "You need to rest." Or, "You need to stop trying."
In other words, surrender to the unknown. Trust that there are better days ahead. Trust that there is something bigger than you that has your back and has better things in store.
