Today’s exercise, is for everyone, you can also do it with your children!
Hi again everyone, old and new readers, thank you for checking in. This to me means that you are looking for ways to cope with what is happening at this moment in time and that is a good thing.
As I have told you before, I have adapted my blog to the current situation and it´s intention is to give you some tools to cope with what is happening at the moment.
This is not about the virus in itself nor is it about if we are doing the right thing or not, as I don’t know. I’m an International Health and life Coach and an NLP Trainer and Coach and giving some tools to how you can keep your state during all this is my grain of sand, if you like.
As some of you already know I live in Spain, the country with the highest number of infections and death by habitants in the world as I write this blog.
Our lock down is very much what a house arrest would look like, we are confined to our homes and can only go out for food or medicines, only one person per family at a time. We are encouraged to shop large amounts, so we go out as little as possible. If you have a dog, you can walk it 400m from your residence. Only essential workers work.
It may be more or less the same where you are or it may be a less restricted version, whatever it is, I think we should be grateful to all the essential workers and I also think we should recognize that we are all heroes. The ones who are out there providing the essential services and us that are staying at home, we are all in this together, we are all important in fighting this thing.
WE ARE ALL HEROES!
Here are a few things to keep in mind so you do not go stir-crazy and if and when you do, you can snap yourself out of it!
These are unprecedented and challenging times and there is nothing wrong with what you are feeling. We do need some extra resilience to get through this together and come out on the other side still being whole. It is not just the economy, it is not just not getting seriously ill, it is keeping state as we are in a constant challenge and we do not know when it will end exactly.
The exercise for today is called the circle of excellence. If you are doing it with children or if you simply prefer you can create your own superhero bodysuit instead of a circle because remember we are all heroes. You can use it if you are an essential worker or an essential staying at homer:
Visualize a circle that you can fit into (or a superhero body suit), this will be your circle of excellence.
Now think of an ability or strength that you will benefit from having as you go through these challenging times. The first thing I thought of was a superhero immune system (you can put in yours whatever is the most useful to you)
I put a superhero immune system in my circle of excellence.
I step inside my circle, if you cannot step physically into yours you can make a video in your head where you do so. As I step into my circle, I close my eyes and I take some long deep breaths……………………
That is right and then I move around in there and take a deep breath.
I notice what I see, feel and hear………………..
I step out, what else is needed in here?
Then I thought; patience, that would be useful for me at this moment in time.
I put patience into my circle of excellence.
I step inside my circle, as I step into my circle, I close my eyes and I take some long deep breaths……………………
That is right and then I move around in there and take a deep breath.
I notice what I see, feel and hear………………..
I step out, what else is needed in here?
Inner peace, came to me.
I put inner peace into my circle.
I step inside my circle, as I step into my circle, I close my eyes and I take some long deep breaths……………………
That is right and then I move around in there and take a deep breath.
I notice what I see, feel and hear………………..
I step out, what else is needed in here?
Then I thought kindness and understanding of other’s people perspective.
I put kindness and understanding of other’s people perspective into my circle of excellence.
I step inside my circle, as I step into my circle, I close my eyes and I take some long deep breaths……………………
That is right and then I move around in there and take a deep breath.
I notice what I see, feel and hear………………..
I step out, what else is needed in here?
Love, I would want love to be part of my circle of excellence.
So, I put love in my circle of excellence.
I step inside my circle, as I step into my circle, I close my eyes and I take some long deep breaths……………………
That is right and then I move around in there and take a deep breath.
I notice what I see, feel and hear………………..
I step out, what else is needed in here?
I wait and I can´t see, hear or feel any more strengths I would put into my circle of excellence at that moment in time.
I stepped inside my circle, again to see, hear and feel what all these strengths, superhero immune system, patience, inner peace, kindness and understanding of other’s people perspective and love have given me and when I´m ready I step out.
I pick up my circle, make it small and put it in my pocket so I can lay it out on the floor whenever I need to step inside. You can also put it in a safe place for you.
You can put whichever strength is the most useful to you and you can add new ones whenever you want to. You can make this into a game with your children.
I send you all of my best intentions and remember being kind is free.
Best wishes
Ivalo