Life, Remote Work, Self-Care, Work
New Chapter Coming Soon
New chapters come with new territories and opportunities. And in the spirit of new chapters, I am starting one of my own. I recently joined Red Canary’s flock as their Community Manager for the Atomic Red Team. In addition to this new opportunity, other parts of my life are also experiencing new chapters. And I must say it can be exciting, scary, adventurous, and a bit nerve-wracking. Many other emotions can arise as we experience newfound independence, people, careers, or relationships in our life. And first, let’s emphasize that it’s okay to have more than one emotion as we learn to cope and manage a new normal.
Are you Good?
Acclimating into a new chapter can take days, weeks, months, and sometimes years. There’s never a true set time. Sometimes it can be fairly overwhelming. So right now, if your thoughts are moving a mile a minute, let’s bring you into the present and get your thoughts in a better space. Let’s perform some affirmational breaths. Place your hands on your heart and as you breathe in, inhale all the things you need in life, and as you exhale, release all that’s not serving you. Do that for about 4-8 breaths and allow your shoulders to relax down and your thoughts to slow down. The moment you start feeling your thoughts race again, remind yourself of what you want to bring into your life. This will help you to check in on what’s going on.
Just like mentioned in the blog, How Are You? Really, we all have other aspects of ourselves outside of work. I know I am guilty of ignoring my own needs as a way to deal with new things happening. After learning the hard way, I have realized that is not conducive. Some ways that helped me were setting weekly check-in alarms on my phone, scheduling a Yoga or meditation session, reading a book like The Magic by Rhonda Byrnes, or writing daily entries about my day. This way, you’re checking on your emotional, mental, and physical health.
Learn to be Comfortable with Uncomfortability
As you grow, lessons are learned the easy and sometimes the hard way. If it’s a harder one, it can cause growing pains that take you to uncomfortable places. The annoying part is that life likes to not give you all the deets for the situations you find yourself in. Like Forrest Gump says, “My mom always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” As we continue this book called life we are going to experience different challenges, “happy accidents”, or learning curves. Someone also once told me if you want to grow, become comfortable with discomfort. Now when this becomes unmanageable, completely overwhelming, or often hurting. It’s okay to seek help whether it’s using TalkSpace, BetterHelp, talking to a loved one, or traditional therapy methods. You don’t have to wait until you’re about to explode to ask for help or talk to someone, talking could help you learn a few new tools to manage your emotions. If you’re just wanting to release emotions inside, invite tears to fall, let your frustrations out safely (I smash ice), or ask for help. I try to remember that every feeling or thought is temporary and I can invite healthy thoughts in at any time with affirmational breaths. In the near future, I hope you begin moving in a positive and healthy direction in life.
Enjoy the new
Now we’ve talked about checking in, preparing for tough moments but what about when all you can do is smile. Embrace them! You are so powerful, resilient, and capable. When we get to enjoy life and take a moment to catch our breath, that is a valuable moment. I mean look at where you’ve gotten yourself so far. That deserves a dance and a pat on the back. Another thing about these moments of your journey is a perfect time to share testimonials, to be proud of yourself, and to cherish the progress. You are taking the step to give yourself the best life possible. Sometimes the steps to getting there aren’t easy but it’s worth celebrating the process of doing what you need to do for yourself!
So embrace the tears, laughter, and the moments of WTF?! The crazy part is sometimes we enter new chapters voluntarily and involuntarily. And even when we enter them voluntarily, we don’t realize what all comes with it. Either way, it can create a bit of temporary chaos and throw our self-care routines off. As a kind reminder here are three ways to welcome this new chapter healthily and happily!
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