We’re all worn out as we wait...

If you are feeling like me, and so many people with whom I’ve been in conversation recently, we’re collectively sensing a peculiar mix of excitement, longing, and uncertainty.

We are moving into month 13 of restrictions and changes due to the pandemic. That’s a crazy-long time to have been in uncertainty, much less experiencing the despair that so many have suffered.

As humans, our first impulse when a problem arrises is to reach out to others — and to be close. Close contact is the biggest thing we have been unable to have, and that has been hard.

Many of us are running low on resources to continue hanging in, waiting for the tide to truly turn.

We just do not yet know when that will be.

We are tired of seeing others only on screens. We miss embraces, we miss sitting and sharing meals together. We long to be able to sit in a crowded cafe, or attend a live performance, or travel.

Here are the best ideas I’ve had and seen lately

Zoom — yes, it continues to be a great resource!

In spite of screen fatigue and the feeling of disconnection, we can still leverage the miracle of this (and similar) technology to help us cope.

On Saturday, I led a private virtual vision board workshop for a group of 12 women who missed one another and longed to gather to share a great experience. It was an absolute pleasure to guide them through my process, and see the joy they had creating together.

And next weekend my family will have a zoom celebration for my father’s 95th birthday. Friends and relatives from around the globe will join us — something that was not possible at the beautiful party we had for my dad on his 90th birthday. Will it be the same as 5 years ago? No. Will it be special, memorable and have some advantages? Yes.

How can you think about designing a virtual way to gather in a fresh light, so that connecting to others can boost your emotions?

Get outside!

I marvel at people who have been outside every day, especially in the cold winter months we’ve experienced where I live. I have intended to get out more, but I have often stayed warm and kept busy inside.

Yesterday I not only bundled up and walked in the cold bright air, I decided not to stay close to home as I typically do. I chose to walk in a nearby park with the goal to see more people than I do in the streets around my home.

It was lovely to see families out and about, and see kids climb on a play structure.

I did not expect it, but I heard someone call my name. As I looked at the man in a wooly hat and mask, making it hard to tell who he was, I realized I recognized his voice!

It was so special to have this casual encounter and conversation with someone I had not seen in over a year.

I am motivated to take myself to more places where I can safely be near people in a way that feels “normal.” When we got home from our walk yesterday, we bought tickets to visit an outdoor sculpture museum next weekend. I cannot wait!

What can you do to expand the possibilities to safely connect with people in the real world?

Ramp up the gratitude

I know this may sound like a recurring theme, but that’s because gratitude is so powerful, and such a valuable resource that is always available to us.

If we are lucky, the vaccine rollout will swiftly protect our entire population. If we are lucky, the vaccines will protect us against the new variants (or booster shots will do that). If we are lucky, the new stimulus funds will usher in a big round of economic relief and suffering will subside.

We can wait and see, and then express gratitude.

Or, we can be grateful each day that there is forward progress underway.

We can be grateful now, knowing that we will soon be safer.

We can be grateful now, for sunny days and for spring being just round the corner.

We can be grateful now for love, for kindness, and for each smile — whether we see that smile in the eyes of a person wearing a mask, or on a zoom screen, or through a window.

When we focus on gratitude, we fill ourselves with good emotions. These buoy us and help us to bring patience and resilience to each day.

How can you make gratitude a bigger part of your life each day?

How are you creating your way through the challenges?

Leave a comment and share what is working for you now. I am eager to hear about more great ideas.

And if you have the urge to make new moves in your life or work, or are trying to figure out what’s next, or you yearn to create a future that fulfills your dreams, let’s talk.

I love to be in conversation with accomplished women who want to explore what’s in their way now, and connect to a vision for the lives they yearn to create.

And the timing may be ideal. The next Live Big Live! will be launching in April, and registration has just opened.

I promise that our conversation will provide you with a new insight or fresh perspectives about your life and what’s possible. If Live Big Live! may be a good fit for you, we’ll talk about that — but if either of us feels the fit is not good, that’s absolutely fine.

You can book a Live Big Breakthrough Call with me, or email me and we’ll make a date to talk.

Stay safe and well, and keep creating.