Many of you reading this are most likely experiencing the same feelings, or at least felt them at some point over the last month or so.
Even before the schools recently closed, I was already pretty overwhelmed - at least a few days a week - with all I needed to accomplish.
When I heard the news that the kids would be home and WE would have to home-school them for 2 months, I about lost it.
#NotMyProudestMoment
I couldn't possibly imagine how we were going to add this to our already busy daily routine, while still running our businesses - as well as help our clients run theirs. I was already burning the candle at both ends.
After a chat with an extremely talented client & friend - thank you, Jill! (www.JillSellsTampa.com) - I calmed down and started thinking about the new situation in a far more rational way.
I was able to focus on all the positives. Things like:
That last point was also one that Jill and I had discussed on our earlier phone call.
I felt really blessed to have that kind of partnership and help, especially at a time like this. Then I began wondering how other people were going to handle all of this.
What about people who were still working somewhere? How were they going to homeschool their kids? What about single people, or people without help? What if BOTH of a child's parents were still working?
My daughter has a classmate who's father is a single dad, so I called to ask how things were and what his plan was for school.
He said he still had to go to work and he didn't know what he was going to do. I immediately offered for him to drop his daughter at my house in the mornings and we would make sure her school work got done.
My response was almost instinctual. I didn't even think twice about it.
Once I shifted from an internal standpoint, (what I needed and how I felt) to one of external focus (how I could be of service to another)- the overwhelm and stress began to melt away.
As a matter-of-fact, ALL the previous feelings of extreme overwhelm left and stayed gone, even as more things to stress about came creeping up....
Soon after this, a construction crew broke the water main outside our neighborhood. Boom. No water all day - and when it came back on, we received hand-delivered red tags letting us know that the water was contaminated and we shouldn't use it - for pretty much anything - without boiling it first. With kids in the house that routinely drink water from the fridge dispenser and wash their hands and take showers, this is almost worse than having no water at all! We now had to be constantly listening for water running, to ensure that one of them wasn't accidentally drinking it!
Still, I stayed calm and pretty much shrugged it off. No overwhelm. Three days later we got the "all clear."
Reaching out to offer help when we feel completely overwhelmed ourselves, can seem incredibly counterproductive.
I've noticed - in other areas of life too - that sometimes the answer is hiding right within the challenge.
Want more friends? Be friendly.
Want more love? Be loving.
Want more abundance? Be giving.
Often times, you have to first BE, or GIVE, the very thing you desire.
So....go and be. Do and give.
If there is anything else at all I can help you with, use the form below to reach out - and please share.